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

量子计算、通信、成像、传感、密码学等量子技术研究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。人们可以设想，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造新的混合信号电路技术，并利用SiPh集成能力的优势，为未来的民用量子应用。该项目的愿景是利用集成SiPh电路进行纠缠量子态的制备、生成和检测，在CMOS芯片上实现量子通信电路，以满足未来量子应用和信息网络的需求。随着现有的大规模工业研究努力，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影响。本课题开发的量子态概率测量仪具有应用于生物和医学领域的潜力，并且由于其低成本和低功耗的实现方法，本课题开发的仪器具有工业和商业应用所需的功能和性能，也可用于本科量子实验室教学。后者将有可能加速发展多样化和具有全球竞争力的科学、技术、工程和数学劳动力。在社区大学开发量子力学课程，提供可负担且可获得的量子实验验证和实验室练习，以及为包括代表性不足的少数民族在内的社会经济多样化的学习者提供职业培训机会，将成为可能。本研究的总体目标包括两个具体目标。第一个目标将集中于在商用CMOS工艺技术制造的高分辨率时间相关概率测量技术的理论分析和集成电路实现。第二个目标是实现集成的SiPh实时量子测量设备，该设备可以提供芯片级的量子位准备和检测能力，以有效加快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全数字的高分辨率随机采样平均过程电路架构，以及低功耗方差减小技术，同时实现高动态范围和高精度的实时概率测量。此外，提出的电路创新是基于随机过程和概率论，而不是增量的物理电路改进。整个研究计划的属性是理论和实验：理论部分将包括发展和优化增强数字随机过程技术及其严格的数学分析；实验组件将涉及电子集成电路和SiPh片对片集成的发展。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。

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.