C: Quantum-Enhanced Inertial Measurement Unit (QEIMU)

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The NSF Convergence Accelerator program supports use-inspired, team-based, multidisciplinary efforts that address challenges of national importance and will produce deliverables of value to society in the near future. Current high-precision inertial sensors are bulky and prohibitive, holding back a wide impact, e.g., for self-driving cars, wearable healthcare devices, and secure navigation in GPS-denied environment.The goal of this project is to develop the functional inertial sensing modules and control units and converge on a fully integrated quantum-enhanced inertial measurement unit (QEIMU) prototype as the end- of-project deliverable. The intellectual merit of this project is in developing a multilayer silicon nitride platform on which team members will fabricate and assemble quantum-light sources, gyroscopes, and accelerometers.The QEIMU prototype will improve key performance metrics for gyroscopes and accelerometers, including the angle random walk (ARW), sensitivity, and bias by one-to-two orders of magnitude and, at the same time, enjoy low cost, compactness, a clear pathway to mass productivity, and robustness. Such unique features will make the QEIMU widely and readily available for the commercial markets of self-driving cars, aerospace navigation, and handheld sensing devices as well as space and defense-oriented applications, thereby creating near-term and profound societal impacts within 5-10 years.The QEIMU module is envisaged to be installed on 1) autonomous vehicles for secure navigation without GPS signals; 2) mobile devices as a complementary precise indoor positioning technique; and 3) activity recognition systems for medical diagnostics, home monitoring, assisted living, and sport-related applications. The broader impact of this project will be on inertial sensors market and their adoption in many markets that are currently untapped. The impact will also be on engagement and education of underrepresented groups in quantum technology. "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.