RAISE-EQuIP: Single-Chip, Wall-Plug Photon Pair Source and CMOS Quantum Systems on Chip

过去一年人类产生的新数据量超过了人类历史上所有数据的总和。这些数据的处理需求正在推动对更强大计算能力的持续需求，包括大数据分析、人工智能和增强现实等领域，服务于个人、医疗、研究、工程、金融和天气预报等技术。随着半导体行业的“摩尔定律”——在过去的50年里保证了计算能力的持续发展——在过去的十年里已经停滞不前，人们正在寻求新的计算范式来弥补这种可怕的局面。量子信息技术是信号处理和计算的新前沿，它利用了我们宇宙中在小尺度上不直观的定律。英特尔、IBM和b谷歌已经开发出了50-100量子位的处理器，但目前还没有量子光学网络，需要以类似于传统类似物的方式将它们连接到“量子数据中心”。该项目旨在通过开发一种新的电子光子芯片技术和框架来填补这一空白，从而允许创建电子光子量子片上系统（epqsoc）。epqsoc在单个微芯片上结合了光、电子电路和量子功能，可以为量子网络提供广泛部署的技术平台。该项目将结合光子学、电子系统和量子通信领域的跨学科专业知识，展示第一个epQSoC。单芯片，量子相关光子对的“插头”源，该epQSoC是更复杂的epQSoC和量子网络的基本构建块。通过集成多个组件和以前从未集成在单个芯片上的新功能，该源将提供新的水平的光子对源性能。跨学科项目团队还将在这个新兴的新技术领域培养新一代工程师，以促进美国的创新、卓越和全球领导地位。光子对的“墙塞”单芯片源，是大多数量子光子系统的基本组成部分，将被证明具有高效率，速率和可重构性，以产生可分解的量子态，并允许预告纯单光子。尽管这种用于实验室的机架式光纤非线性光源已经商业化了近十年，但目前还没有这样的集成设备。该项目旨在通过展示完全集成的单芯片量子对源系统来改变量子技术的格局。芯片光子电路将包含用于源前和源后线性泵浦滤波的光子元件，谐振非线性对发生器，泵浦脉冲切割器，允许将泵浦脉冲长度与源的谐振带宽进行主动匹配，以控制产生的光子联合光谱强度（产生可分解或其他工程双光子状态），以及光纤的超低损耗接口。提出的方法解决了集成、片上滤波和实时控制中出现的许多挑战。除了独立运行外，该对源将是电子-光子量子片上系统（epQSoC）的第一个实现，也是更复杂的集成量子系统的关键构建块。所提出的epqsoc将在商用45nm CMOS电子-光子平台上实现（也有可能在芯片上集成单光子探测器）。该项目将创建技术框架（模块库、工具、模型和设计方法），以实现低成本、快速创新和设计复杂的epqsoc。这个框架，连同相关的教育材料和经验，将有助于培养一批能够处理量子信息系统复杂、多学科性质的新工程师。教育和推广活动将为这一领域的新一代学生和未来的领导者提供接触和培训，特别关注代表性不足的学生。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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。

The amount of new data generated by humanity in the past year exceeds that created in all of human history before. The processing demands of this data are driving the continued need for greater computational power, in domains including big data analytics, artificial intelligence, and augmented reality, serving technologies including personal, medical, research, engineering, finance, and weather prediction. As "Moore's Law" of the semiconductor industry - which has guaranteed continued advance of computing power in the last 50 years - has ground to a halt in the past decade, new computational paradigms are being sought to remedy this dire situation. Quantum information technology is the new and ultimate frontier for signal processing and computing and leverages the unintuitive laws of our universe that hold on small scales. 50-100 qubit processors have been developed by Intel, IBM and Google, but quantum optical networks, needed to network them into "quantum data centers" in a way similar to their conventional analogues, are missing. This project aims to fill that gap by developing a new electronic-photonic chip technology and framework to allow creation of electronic-photonic quantum systems-on-chip (epQSoCs). epQSoCs combine light, electronic circuits, and quantum functions on a single microchip that can provide a widely deployable technology platform for quantum networks. The project will combine interdisciplinary expertise in photonics, electronic systems, and quantum communications to demonstrate the first epQSoC. A single-chip, "wall-plug" source of quantum correlated photon pairs, this epQSoC is a fundamental building block for more complex epQSoCs and for quantum networks. By integrating several components and novel capabilities never previously integrated in a single chip, this source will provide new levels of photon-pair source performance. The interdisciplinary project team will also educate a new generation of engineers in this emerging new technology area to foster innovation, excellence and global leadership in the United States.A "wall plug" single-chip source of photon pairs, a fundamental building block of most quantum photonic systems, will be demonstrated having a high efficiency, rate and reconfigurability to produce factorizable quantum states and allow heralding of pure single photons. No such integrated device exists despite the fact that a rack-mounted fiber-nonlinearity-based source of this kind for lab use has been commercialized for almost a decade. The proposed project aims to change the quantum technology landscape with the demonstration of a fully integrated single-chip quantum pair source system. The chip photonic circuit will contain photonic elements for pre- and post-source linear pump filtering, a resonant nonlinear pair generator, pump pulse carver to allow active matching of the pump pulse length to the source's resonant bandwidth in order to control the produced photons joint spectral intensity (to yield a factorizable or other engineered biphoton states), and an ultra-low loss interface to fiber. The proposed approach addresses a number of challenges that arise in integration, on-chip filtering, and real-time control. In addition to standalone operation, the pair source will be the first implementation of an electronic-photonic quantum system-on-chip (epQSoC) and a key building block for more complex integrated quantum systems. The proposed epQSoCs will be implemented in a commercial 45nm CMOS electronic-photonic platform (with potential for integrating single-photon detectors on chip as well). The project will create the technology framework (block libraries, tools, models and design methodologies) for low-cost, rapid innovation and design of sophisticated epQSoCs. This framework, along with associated educational materials and experiences will help create a new crop of engineers that are capable of tackling the complex, multidisciplinary nature of quantum information systems. Educational and outreach activities will provide exposure and training to a new generation of students and future leaders in this field, with special focus on underrepresented students.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.