QuSeC-TAQS: Development of Quantum Sensors with Helium-4 using 2D Materials

该项目结合了两种奇特的材料，超流氦和纳米多孔二维聚合物，开发了一种传感器设备，利用了液氦在接近绝对零度的温度下奇怪的宏观量子行为。纳米多孔膜将在两个超流氦库之间提供一个弱连接，并实现称为约瑟夫森结的量子耦合。由此产生的超流体在储层之间的传输被预测具有量子力学所描述的不寻常的性质。基于这种架构的量子传感器将允许测量传统传感器无法检测到的现象，从地球自转的微小波动到暗物质的指纹。这种量子传感器的技术应用是广泛的。它们存在于大地测量学（GPS和地质勘探）、引力和广义相对论（暗物质和宇宙学）、计量学（物理量的量子标准）和量子信息（量子计算）等学科中。探索超流氦的约瑟夫森结可以实现在几个科学学科中有用的新能力。 关键的假设是，纳米多孔二维晶体聚合物膜将使超流氦-4约瑟夫森结结构。该项目旨在展示超流体约瑟夫森结，并探索如何控制和测量超流体通过纳米多孔膜的受限几何形状的量子输运。将研究结的基本噪声特性，以了解基于这种效应的物质波干涉器件、陀螺仪、量子限幅放大器、量子标准和量子比特结构的最终性能。作为这些实验的一部分，该项目将研究凝聚态物理学，量子材料，材料科学和量子工程中的基本问题。该项目将为超流SQUID、声学放大器、量子标准和量子比特等新量子器件奠定基础。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。

This project combines two exotic materials, superfluid helium and nanoporous two-dimensional polymers, to develop a sensor device that takes advantage of the strange macroscopic quantum behavior of liquid helium at temperatures near absolute zero. A nanoporous membrane will provide a weak link between two reservoirs of superfluid helium, and enable a quantum coupling known as a Josephson junction. The resulting transport of superfluid between reservoirs is predicted to have unusual properties described by quantum mechanics. Quantum sensors based on this architecture will allow measurement of phenomena that is undetectable to conventional sensors, from minute fluctuations in the Earth’s rotation to the fingerprints of dark matter. The technical applications for of this quantum sensor are widespread. They are found in disciplines spanning geodesy (GPS and geological exploration), gravitation and general relativity (dark matter and cosmology), metrology (quantum standards for physical quantities), and quantum information (quantum computing). Exploring Josephson junctions for superfluid helium can enable new capabilities that are useful in several scientific disciplines. The key hypothesis is that nanoporous two-dimensional crystal polymer membranes will enable superfluid helium-4 Josephson junction structures. This project is designed to demonstrate superfluid Josephson junctions and explore how to control and measure the quantum transport of superfluid through the restricted geometry of a nanoporous membrane. The fundamental noise properties of the junctions will be studied in order to understand the ultimate performance of matter wave interference devices, gyroscopes, quantum limited amplifiers, quantum standards, and qubit structures based on this effect. As part of these experiments, this project will examine fundamental issues in condensed matter physics, quantum materials, materials science, and quantum engineering. This project will lay a foundation for new quantum devices such as superfluid SQUIDs, acoustic amplifiers, quantum standards, and qubits.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.