Scalable Quantum Communications with Error-Corrected Semiconductor Qubits

The world of quantum mechanics holds enormous potential for a new generation of applications that address unsolved problems in communications, computation, and precision measurements. Efforts are underway across the globe to develop such technologies in a range of physical systems, including atoms, superconductors, and atom-like emitters in solids. This NSF program will focus on semiconductor materials: specifically, it will use nitrogen vacancy (NV) and silicon vacancy (SiV) color centers in diamond, which recently emerged as leading platforms for solid-state quantum memories and single photon sources.

After successful proof-of-principle demonstrations of many of the basic elements, a central challenge today is to devise new methods of device fabrication, component integration, and scalable fault-tolerant protocols to realize functional and scalable systems. These are the goals of this program, with a focus on semiconductor quantum devices for quantum secure communications. To this end, the program will develop a new generation of quantum light sources, and error-corrected quantum memories along with theoretical protocols with improved fault tolerance. These advances represent critical steps towards deployable and scalable quantum networks that have the potential to provide unhackable cryptography, new forms of quantum computing, precision measurement, and a host of other applications not possible on classical networks used today.