CAREER: Silicon-Photonics High-Resolution Real-Time Probability Apparatus for Quantum Applications

量子技术研究，例如，量子计算、通信、成像、传感和密码学已成为未来的战略研究方向。 硅光子学（SiPh）集成电路技术提供了高可扩展性，低成本的功能集成，以及在室温操作下使用光子学编码和处理量子信息的可能性。人们可以想象，低成本、高质量的集成硅光子量子电路和系统将成为未来量子物联网的核心，量子计算设备将通过一个强大而安全的量子通信网络连接在一起。该项目的长期目标是创建新的混合信号电路技术，并利用SiPh集成能力的优势，用于未来的民用量子应用。该项目的愿景是在CMOS芯片上实现量子通信电路，通过利用集成SiPh电路进行纠缠量子态的制备，生成和检测，以满足未来量子应用和信息网络的需求。 与现有的大规模工业研究工作沿着，这项关于集成量子态和概率测量的研究有可能成为商业量子设备的一部分，因此对量子通信和密码学产生变革性的影响。提出要开发的量子态概率测量装置具有在生物和医学应用中利用的潜力。此外，由于低成本和低功率的实现方法，提出要开发的装置具有用于工业和商业应用以及在本科生量子实验室指令中采用所需的功能和性能。后者可能会加速发展多元化和具有全球竞争力的科学，技术，工程和数学劳动力。开发量子力学课程，在社区大学进行负担得起的和可获得的量子实验验证和实验室练习，将成为可能，沿着的是为社会经济多样化的学习者，包括代表性不足的少数群体提供职业培训机会。第一个目标将集中在商业CMOS工艺技术中制造的高分辨率时间相关概率测量技术的理论分析和IC实现。第二个目标是实现集成的SiPh实时量子测量装置，它可以在芯片级提供量子比特的制备和检测能力，以有效地加速未来量子计算和通信系统的可扩展性和可靠性。与传统方法相比，本研究提出了一种低成本和几乎完全数字化的电路架构，用于高分辨率随机采样平均过程沿着低功耗方差降低技术，以同时实现高动态范围和高精度实时概率测量。此外，提出的电路创新是基于随机过程和概率理论，而不是增量物理电路的改进。整个研究的属性计划是理论和实验：理论部分将包括增强数字随机处理技术的开发和优化及其严格的数学分析;实验部分将涉及电子集成电路和SiPh芯片到芯片的发展，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Quantum technology research e.g., quantum computing, communication, imaging, sensing, and cryptography, has become a strategic research direction for the future. Silicon photonics (SiPh) integrated-circuit technology offers high-scalability, low-cost functional integration, and the possibility of using photonics to encode and process quantum information under room-temperature operations. One can envision that low-cost, high-quantity integrated silicon-photonics quantum circuits and systems will be at the heart of the future quantum Internet of Things where quantum computing devices will be all linked together by a robust and secure quantum communication network. The long-term goal of this project is to create new mixed-signal circuit techniques and exploit the advantage of SiPh integration capability for future civil quantum applications. The vision of this project is the realization of quantum communication circuits on a CMOS Chip to meet the needs of future quantum applications and information networks by exploiting integrated SiPh circuits for entangled quantum-state preparations, generations and detections. Going along with the existing large-scale industry research efforts, this research on integrated quantum-state and probability measurements has the potential to be a part of commercial quantum devices therefore to have a transformative impact on quantum communication and cryptography. The quantum-state probability measurement apparatus that is proposed to be developed has the potential to be utilized in biological and medical applications, Also, because of the low-cost and low-power implementation approach, the apparatus proposed to be developed has the required functionality and performance for industrial and commercial applications as well as adoption in undergraduate quantum laboratory instructions. The latter of which will potentially accelerate the development of a diverse and globally competitive science, technology, engineering, and mathematics workforce. Developing quantum-mechanics curricula with affordable and accessible quantum experimental verifications and laboratory exercises in community colleges will become possible along with career training opportunities for a socioeconomically diverse pool of learners including under-represented minorities.The overall objective of this research includes two specific aims. The first aim will focus on the theoretical analysis and IC implementation of the high-resolution time-correlated probability measurement technique fabricated in a commercial CMOS process technology. The second aim is the realization of an integrated SiPh real-time quantum measurement apparatus, which can provide the Qubit preparation and detection capabilities on the chip-scale to effectively accelerate the scalability and reliability of future quantum computing and communication systems. Compared to conventional approaches, this research proposes a low-cost and almost fully digital circuit architecture for the high-resolution randomly-sampled averaging process along with a low-power variance reduction technique to simultaneously achieve high-dynamic range and high-accuracy real-time probability measurements. Also, the circuit innovations proposed are based on the random-process and probability theories rather than incremental physical circuit improvements. The attribute of the entire research is planned to be both theoretical and experimental: the theoretical component will include the development and optimization of enhancing digital random-process techniques and their rigorous mathematical analyses; the experimental component will involve the developments of the electronic integrated-circuits and SiPh chip-to-chip integrations.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.