QuIC-TAQS: Integrated Lithium Niobate Quantum Photonics Platform

量子技术的优势来自于量子物理的非直觉定律，它有望彻底改变计算机、网络和传感器的发展进程。这项技术的实现依赖于能量的最小单位的传输，通常跨越很远的距离。这是具有挑战性的，因为每个单元都很容易被错误识别或丢失在环境中。幸运的是，光的粒子——光子——可以绕过这个问题，因此，即使在环境条件下，它们也很有希望成为量子信息的载体。然而，如何有效地将光子与新兴的量子技术（如量子处理器和传感器）相结合是一个突出的挑战。因此，实现所谓的量子互连，即构成互联网骨干的光网络的量子模拟，对于实现所有量子技术的可扩展性和可用性至关重要。该团队正在结合微尺度制造、非线性光学、电子学、超导和材料科学方面的专业知识，实现光量子互连的发送器和接收器元件，所有这些元件都集成在光子芯片上。这个跨学科的项目为学生提供了一个独特的训练场地，并为量子准备的劳动力创造了一个管道。该团队正在积极探索商业化的机会，利用与行业的合作伙伴关系。在量子领域之外，该团队的工作将推动经典通信技术的发展。光子具有许多吸引人的特性来实现量子互连，量子互连是量子技术之间的关键接口。光子存在于环境条件下，可以长距离传播，通常不受环境噪声的影响，并且可以很容易地产生、操纵和检测。这些特性也为实现量子技术带来了挑战，这些技术需要光子之间的确定性相互作用，以及光子与物质量子比特之间的有效相互作用。两者都是通过量子中继器在有损或远距离信道上传输量子信息所必需的。该团队将克服现有光子平台的局限性，开发基于高质量薄膜铌酸锂薄膜的可扩展、超低损耗、集成量子光子平台，并利用其实现量子发射器和接收器。该方法使用频率复用和前馈来产生和分配纠缠，利用快速单光子探测器和开关，固态量子存储器和光子对源，所有这些都集成在同一芯片上。重要的是，我们的团队正在开发材料生长技术，以实现高质量和超低损耗的化学计量单晶铌酸锂器件层，其性能优于市售材料。作为该计划的理想和扩展目标，PI和他的合作者正在利用这些组件来演示频率复用光子量子中继器。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, which derives its advantage from the non-intuitive laws of quantum physics, promises to drastically alter the course of computer, network, and sensor development. The realization of this technology relies on the transmission of the smallest units of energy, often across large distances. This is challenging because each unit can be easily misidentified or lost to the environment. Fortunately, particles of light – photons - can circumvent this, and therefore are promising carriers of quantum information even in ambient conditions. However, it is an outstanding challenge to efficiently interface photons with emerging quantum technologies, such as quantum processors and sensors. Thus, realizing so-called quantum interconnects, quantum analog of optical networks that form the backbone of internet, is essential to enable scalability and usability of all quantum technologies. The team is combining expertise in microscale fabrication, non-linear optics, electronics, superconductivity, and material science, to realize transmitter and receiver elements of quantum interconnects for light, all integrated on a photonic chip. This interdisciplinary program provides a unique training ground for students and creates a pipeline for the quantum-ready workforce. The team is actively exploring opportunities for commercialization, leveraging partnerships with industry. Beyond the quantum realm, the team’s work is poised to advance the state of the art in classical communication technology.Optical photons have many attractive properties to realize quantum interconnects, the crucial interfaces between quantum technologies. Photons exist under ambient conditions, can travel long distances, are generally impervious to environmental noise, and can be generated, manipulated, and detected easily. These properties also introduce challenges to realizing quantum technologies that require deterministic interactions between photons, as well as efficient interactions between photons and matter qubits. Both are essential for transmitting quantum information over lossy or long-distance channel, by way of quantum repeaters. Overcoming limitations of existing photonic platforms, the team will develop a scalable, ultra-low-loss, integrated quantum photonic platform based on high-quality thin-film lithium niobate films, and utilize it to realize quantum transmitters and receivers. The approach uses frequency multiplexing and feed-forward to generate and distribute entanglement, leveraging fast single-photon detectors and switches, solid-state quantum memories, and photon pair sources, all integrated on the same chip. Importantly, our team is developing material growth techniques to realize high-quality and ultra-low-loss stoichiometric single-crystal lithium niobate device layers that outperform commercially available material. As an aspirational and stretch goal of the program, the PI and his collaborators are utilizing these components to demonstrate a frequency multiplexed photonic quantum repeater.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.