NQVL:QSTD:Pilot: Quantum Photonic Integration and Deployment (QuPID)

Spectroscopic quantum metrologies—the science of using quantum light–matter interactions for measurements—stand at the cutting edge of advancements in high-precision standards, techniques, and applications. Despite representing some of the highest achievements in spectroscopy to date, quantum metrologies have largely remained confined to laboratory settings, leaving their greatest potential––applications outside laboratories––mostly untapped.

Following the NSF’s mission to realize practical quantum advantages, the QuPID team, led by the University of Michigan with members from Stanford University, Harvard University, Michigan State University, Ohio State University, University of Arizona, University of Southern California, industry leaders, and national laboratories, is working to remove these barriers. This team is developing groundbreaking chips designed to bring spectroscopic quantum metrologies out of laboratory confines and into the real world while surpassing traditional limits on precision, speed, and efficiency.

The resulting scalable technology promises to revolutionize critical industries, ranging from microelectronics and space exploration to healthcare and beyond. These user-friendly, chip-based instruments also streamline education and ignite the imagination of future STEM enthusiasts. By making high-precision quantum measurements accessible and practical, this team is laying the groundwork for a technological renaissance, driving substantial societal progress.

The QuPID team harnesses the collaborative power of the National Quantum Virtual Laboratory to develop the first ultrabroad-band Quantum Photonic Integrated Circuits (Q-PICs) for field-deployable spectroscopic quantum metrologies. By transforming existing quantum-photonic components and innovating new elements, the team creates Quantum Process Design Kits (Q-PDKs) that integrate ultrawide bandgap III–nitride ferroelectric quantum materials with silicon photonics, surpassing traditional limits on precision, speed, and resource usage.

These efforts seamlessly combine coherent, attosecond, and quantum spectroscopies to a novel quantum-sensing tool for imaging quantum dynamics within interacting multi-particle systems. In eight years, the team engineers Q-PDKs that tailor quantum-sensing capabilities for diverse industries, making high-precision quantum measurements accessible and practical.

Furthermore, the development of these Q-PICs facilitate the creation of compact, robust, and scalable quantum devices, enabling more extensive integration into everyday technologies. The QuPID team is set to transform cumbersome laboratory equipment into streamlined, chip-based solutions, heralding the widespread adoption of quantum advantages.

This project advances the objectives of Quantum Information Science and Engineering at NSF in response to the National Quantum Initiative Act for the continued leadership of the United States in QIS and its technology applications.

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.