U.S. releases national strategy for quantum sensors
The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Subcommittee on Quantum Information Science (SCQIS) recently released a report titled "Putting Quantum Sensors into Practice," which enhances the QIS national strategy.
Report overview
Quantum sensors and measurement devices offer accuracy, stability, and new capabilities that provide advantages for commercial, government, and scientific applications. For example, atomic clocks for Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation and nuclear spin control for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) are already in widespread use, having a transformative impact on society. In the near future, quantum information science and technology (QIST) could enable a new generation of similarly transformative sensors.
Collaboration between industry, academia, and government departments and agencies can advance the necessary science and engineering, and for this, the report makes recommendations to coordinate R&D and facilitate the effective application of quantum sensors. The National Science and Technology Council Subcommittee on Quantum Information Science (SCQIS) should use its inter-agency working group to promote the appropriate implementation of the following recommendations:
1. Institutions leading QIST R&D should accelerate the development of new quantum sensing methods, prioritizing appropriate partnerships with end users to improve the technological maturity of new quantum sensors;
2. Institutions using sensors should conduct feasibility studies and jointly test quantum prototype systems with QIST R&D leaders to identify promising technologies and focus on quantum sensors that solve their institution's mission;
3. Institutions supporting R&D engineering should develop broadly applicable components and subsystems, such as compact and reliable lasers and integrated optics, to facilitate the development of quantum technologies and expand economies of scale;
4. Agencies should simplify the process of technology transfer and acquisition to encourage the development and early adoption of quantum sensor technology.
These recommendations strengthen the U.S. QIST strategy based on the U.S. National Strategy for Quantum Information Science Overview and the National Quantum Initiative (NQI) Act. Its long-term goal is to promote economic opportunity, safe applications and scientific progress through the development of quantum technologies. In the near to medium term, the next 1-8 years, acting on these recommendations will accelerate the key developments needed to realize quantum sensors.
What is a quantum sensor?
Quantum sensors are devices that utilize quantum mechanical properties such as atomic energy levels, photon states, or spins of elementary particles. Precision measurement technology for science, technology and industry. Quantum sensors have implications in different fields: positioning, navigation, timing, local and remote, biomedicine, chemistry and materials science, fundamental physics and cosmology.
Table 1 Five main quantum sensors
1. Atomic Clock
Atomic clocks are key to GPS navigation. The use of atomic clock-assisted networks and high-precision time-transfer protocols can provide resilience to navigation systems when standard GPS signals are unavailable. Atomic clocks currently support Internet and cell phone communications and are necessary for security or high-bandwidth applications. The geology, seismology, oil exploration, grid operations and financial services industries already benefit from chip-scale atomic clocks (CSACs).
Figure 1 Development timeline of the first generation chip-scale atomic clock (CSAC)
The Chip Scale Atomic Clock (CSAC) program was initiated by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and was driven by the 2001 NIST workshop, building on advances in compact lasers, coherent population trapping (CPT), and micromachining. on top of some progress. From basic research and development (ac), to engineering and prototyping (de), to examples of commercialized products (f), CSAC has spent more than a decade, in coordination with academia, government and industry, continuing to invest in nearly $100 million. Multiple projects and industry partnerships have contributed to the development of CSAC, enabling key component technologies and commercialization, with sales exceeding 100,000.
2. Atomic Interferometer
Atom interferometers used as gravimeters and gravity gradiometers are expected to be used in geoscience research such as volcanology, groundwater, mineral deposits, tidal dynamics and ice formation. Figure 2 shows some milestones of the atomic interferometer from its invention to commercial application. Atom interferometers may soon map underground structures and voids, potentially for vehicle inspections and tunnel detection; improved gravimeters have the potential to reduce the cost of civil engineering and geological surveys.
Applications of atomic interferometers in fundamental physics include measurement of the gravitational constant (large G), testing of the equivalence principle (universality of free fall), millimeter-scale gravitational measurements, the search for dark matter particles, and possible replacements for gravitational wave detection method.
Atomic Interferometer also manufactures competitive gyroscopes and accelerometers for inertial navigation, in some cases minimizing the need for sonar or GPS; gyrocompass, satellite positioning, guidance, navigation gravity mapping and undersea obstacle avoidance Other applications may also be on the horizon.
Figure 2 Timeline of atom interferometer from laboratory research to commercial application
De Broglie's hypothesis that particles propagate like waves opened up research in the field of matter-wave optics. Subsequently, atomic interferometry has benefited from key work in laser trapping and cooling of atoms, coherent momentum transfer from light to atoms, photonics and nanotechnology. Modern demonstrations of atomic interferometry began in 1991(a), and the field has continued to grow with the support of several agencies, including the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), ARO, ONR, DARPA, NASA and DOE. Atomic interferometry has applications in gravimetry (b), inertial navigation, civil engineering, earth science and the measurement of fundamental constants. Continued investment over 30 years has evolved atomic interferometers from laboratory instruments (c) to space-based platforms, spawning new corporate and commercial prototypes (d), mobile devices (e), 2020 NASA Cold Atom Experiment Chamber in orbit for atomic interferometry experiments (f). Even with these advances, engineering challenges still need to be overcome to advance the commercial application of atomic interferometers. For example, focused work is required in laser systems, integrated optics, atomic sources, vacuum systems, and quantum control.
3. Optical magnetometer
Optical magnetometers based on atomic spins in vapors, Bose condensates, or solid-state systems such as nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond can provide capabilities for local and remote sensing, mapping, and navigation. Magnetometers can be used in biomedical studies of neural function, for example, to understand Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and cognitive abilities through magnetoencephalography (MEG). Techniques such as MEG complement functional magnetic resonance imaging, electroencephalography (EEG), and cryo-electron microscopy in biomedicine. The NV Center can also perform nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy on chemical shifts of micron-scale samples, suitable for studying protein dynamics in single cells. Optical magnetometers could also support non-invasive detection of biological samples and new tools for surface science.
Figure 3 Left is a SQUID-based MEG, and right is an optical magnetometer-based MEG
MEG devices (a) based on superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) require cryogenic cooling and have a large footprint and overhead. While suitable for medical research, they are unlikely to achieve large-scale clinical use. Optical magnetometer-based MEG devices (b) can approach or even exceed the sensitivity limit of SQUID MEGs without requiring cryogenic cooling or large operating spaces. One application for these smaller, more portable MEG devices could be in the field of diagnosis of traumatic brain injury.
Figure 4 NV center magnetometry
Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond allow magnetic measurements and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic analysis, as well as imaging with spatial resolutions approaching nanoscale. Research and development at the NV Center has been ongoing for more than 20 years, with participants including NSF, NIST, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the National Institutes of Health. Notable achievements include detection of multiple nuclear species in ubiquitin proteins as (a); using NMR spectral resolution of NV centers as (b); using scanning confocal microscopy using a single NV center, nanoscale magnetic field sensing , single-cell imaging using quantum diamond microscopy, and detection of single neuron firing in living specimens. A possible near-term application of the diamond NV magnetic imager is to detect changes in the conduction velocity of action potentials caused by diseases such as multiple sclerosis.
4. Devices utilizing quantum optical effects
Devices that exploit quantum optical effects offer the opportunity to push the standard quantum limit in microscopy, spectroscopy and interferometry. Photons in nonclassical states bring the measurement to the Heisenberg limit. For example, "squeezed light" enables NSF's Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and its international counterparts, Virgo and KAGRA, to operate below the traditional expected noise baseline. Using squeezed light greatly increases the detection rate of black hole collisions, effectively expanding the scope of the universe that LIGO can study.
Figure 5 Timeline of the development of LIGO from theoretical concept to international observation activities
NSF's Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) is the result of more than 40 years of fundamental research and more than $1 billion in investment. Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves a century before they were first observed, and in 1981 first proposed using squeezed light to break the standard quantum limit. At the time of the initial grant, LIGO was NSF's largest single grant. It took more than 20 years from the initial investment to producing observations of gravitational waves; it's a testament to the value of persistence and patient management. To date, there have been more than 90 detections of gravitational wave events resulting from black hole mergers, black hole-neutron star mergers, and neutron star collisions. There is an international effort to build more ground-based interferometers, as well as a space-based interferometer called LISA. From left to right in the figure is the early schematic diagram of the use of compressed light to detect gravitational waves (a), the quadruple pendulum suspension system of advanced LIGO (b), and the deployment of compressed light optical path in LIGO (c), which can remind mobile phones of gravitational wave detection events. Application (d), map (e) of existing and developing gravity observatories around the world.
The field of quantum optics also provides the basis for super-resolution and non-invasive or low-invasive imaging. These concepts may provide new microscopes for biomedicine. Single-photon and photon number-state detectors can have applications in DNA sequencing, enzyme activity tracking, particle physics, dark matter searches, quantum network protocols, and low-light remote sensing, such as advanced lidar.
Quantum sensors through quantum state tomography, quantum gate set tomography, and quantum process tomography can elucidate the behavior of quantum computer prototypes and components. These sophisticated probes for materials and devices may lead to a better understanding of superconducting qubits, ion trap qubits, diamond NV centers, and other engineered impurities in solid-state materials.
5. Atomic electric field sensor
Atomic electric field sensors can use Rydberg atomic states as transducers or quantum antennas to measure electromagnetic fields in a wide frequency range from direct current (0 Hz) to terahertz (1012 Hz). The detection, signal processing and imaging of terahertz radiation can be achieved by optical readout using coherent spectroscopy methods. This technology opens up opportunities for new capabilities in remote sensing and electrometry, with the potential to expand new applications in the terahertz range. Furthermore, atomic electric field sensors offer opportunities to reduce antenna size and improve RF filtering. Other applications include extending the distance between cell towers and acquiring signals with a wide dynamic range.
What are the challenges? How to overcome it?
Quantum sensing is arguably the most mature subcategory of quantum technologies; by contrast, quantum computing and quantum networks are in their early stages of development. Given the current situation, some quantum sensors are expected to have an impact on society in the short term if some key challenges can be overcome.
Taking quantum sensors from proof-of-concept designs to deployable products still needs to overcome many hurdles. First, the huge application space and potential user needs make it difficult for people to focus on specific applications or needs. In addition, the market drivers and commercial value of many quantum sensors are still being determined. As a result, R&D efforts are decentralized. At the same time, the long road from basic research to successful product requires substantial and ongoing funding, often requiring several coordinated advancements.
Given the different needs of different user groups, a long-term strategy should be developed that aligns multiple agencies and unites private sector stakeholders on the development of some specific applications and key enabling technologies. A cohesive, systems-wide approach is especially important for R&D efforts that no single institution, university or company can sustain on its own. More coordination with the private sector to mature quantum technologies more efficiently will benefit from coordinated efforts on intellectual property, acquisitions, research security and appropriate partnerships.
Recommendation 1: Institutions leading QIST R&D should accelerate the development of new quantum sensing methods and prioritize appropriate partnerships with end users to improve the technological maturity of new quantum sensors.
Challenges: Many scientists who conduct basic research lack expertise in the broad fields in which their work may ultimately be applied. This includes familiarity with current (competitive) technologies and the stringent requirements of deploying sensors in operational environments. Finding experts and end users with complementary knowledge is a challenge, and the payoff can take a long time. These times may not be aligned with promotion and tenure criteria, and a lack of programmatic resources or institutional support for new joint projects (it is believed) will slow progress. It is also difficult to predict if or when experiments and demonstrations will yield commercially, scientifically relevant devices, or help institutions accomplish their missions.
Recommendation: Agencies leading QIST R&D, such as NIST, NSF, DOE, DOD, NASA, and the intelligence community, should work with potential end-users of quantum sensor prototypes to jointly test, develop, and disseminate results from end-user applications. The goal of this proposal is to accelerate the basic development, testing and utilization of prototypes. These agencies should seek appropriate partnerships with end-users in the U.S. government, industry, and academia who can apply quantum technologies to improve the way technology consumers achieve their respective goals or missions. Working together to benefit end users by providing new capabilities, first-mover advantages and increasing awareness of emerging technologies.
Recommendation 2: Institutions using sensors should conduct feasibility studies and test quantum prototype systems with QIST R&D leaders to identify promising technologies and focus on quantum sensors that solve their institution's mission.
Challenges: Quantum technologies are surrounded by exaggerated claims, and unrealistic expectations or misunderstandings about potential applications are common consequences. There are also potential end users who are unaware of the existence of certain quantum sensors and thus miss out. Until economies of scale are developed, it is difficult to predict when or whether a lab demonstration will be commercially viable and will help an institution accomplish its mission. For example, comparisons with existing, classical alternatives and benchmarks are not straightforward, as classical sensors may have decades of R&D experience. These challenges make it more complicated to predict the competing devices that will be supported by procurement. In addition, the practical value of a sensor depends on many factors, including performance in real-world environments, response to ambient noise, reliability, specifications such as bandwidth, duty cycle, and operating dead time, but not usually scientists or inventors in the early days The first task of prototype optimization. However, these factors are highly relevant to field deployment. Therefore, potential end users should help judge this space.
Recommendation: Agencies using sensors should identify some relevant quantum technologies and conduct dedicated investigations, invoking partnerships, MOUs and MOAs as appropriate. Potential end-user agencies (consumers) within the U.S. government may include the Department of Homeland Security, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and initially among the Departments of Energy, Defense, and NASA Not part of the QIST research ecosystem. Scientists in national laboratories, federally funded R&D centers, and academia may also be early adopters. The combined efforts of QIST R&D practitioners and these end users can be prioritized for field testing, co-design and development of new quantum sensor prototypes and applications. Agencies can use SCQIS and its working groups to help identify potential partnerships.
Recommendation 3: Institutions supporting engineering R&D should develop broadly applicable components and subsystems, such as compact and reliable lasers and integrated optics, to facilitate the development of quantum technologies and facilitate economies of scale.
Challenges: Access to key enabling technologies is a challenge due to the stringent technical requirements and engineering costs required to control quantum systems. Porting lab prototypes to live demonstrations often requires components or processes that are not yet available, such as specialized materials, fabrication facilities, integrated photonics, lasers, electronics, vacuum systems, interconnects, quantum control, and diagnostics. Unfortunately, many of these enabling technologies do not yet have a large enough market to achieve economies of scale. These obstacles delayed the development of the required subsystems and created challenges in delivering capabilities to end users without multiple iterations and subsequent improvements.
Recommendation: Agencies supporting R&D engineering should collaborate with SCQIS and its working groups to identify ways to facilitate the development of key components necessary to make quantum sensors more compact, reliable and cost-effective. Exploring joint efforts with industry and targeted investments in infrastructure can produce cross-domain, multifunctional components that enable multiple quantum devices, such as wavelength-appropriate lasers and integrated optical circuits. Agencies should coordinate strategic R&D investments in these enabling technologies, build joint ventures and talent pools, and foster a sustainable quantum industrial base.
Recommendation 4: Agencies should simplify the process of technology transfer and acquisition to encourage the development and early adoption of quantum sensor technology.
Challenges: Some practices related to intellectual property protection may hinder cooperation, and these challenges are exacerbated in international cooperation. Similarly, bona fide restrictions on procurement may delay acquisitions and slow development, in some cases reducing competitiveness. Therefore, a balanced approach is needed to ensure research security while maintaining the core values behind American scientific leadership, including the principles of openness, transparency, honesty, fairness, fair play, objectivity, and democracy. While there are serious threats to research safety, there is also a risk that an overly broad implementation of safeguards could inhibit the exchange of information that drives progress.
Recommendation: Agencies should identify and implement practices that help address technology transfer issues, such as choice of source, purchasing rights, licensing agreements and conflicts of interest. Efficient technology transfer and acquisition processes are essential for innovation. They can reduce administrative barriers for inventors to explore commercial viability, help end users access and co-develop products, and make public-private partnerships more straightforward. Where public trust comes first, ensuring that decisions are made in a way that appropriately promotes innovation and basic research, while reducing administrative burdens, can foster rapid innovation. To this end, institutions should carefully consider their tolerance for technical or operational risk, taking into account legal and regulatory considerations, and maintaining best practices for research security. As technology transfer depends on many people in different sectors of government, private sector and academia, one approach is to involve SCQIS, NSTC labs to market subcommittees and their working groups to identify and share best practices.
How to plan the development time?
To help implement these recommendations, the report describes some realistic expectations for the R&D community in the near-term (1-3 years) and medium-term (3-8 years).
Over the next 1-3 years, actions should include:
1. QIST R&D leaders provide briefings and workshops on quantum sensors to institutions. The brief includes a survey of existing sensors and an analysis of their impact on agency missions/needs. Ideally, these briefings will lead to follow-up work to jointly test and demonstrate quantum sensors and compile a curated list of existing and feasible performance metrics.
2. Potential end users should attend professional association meetings, seminars and roundtables centered on QIST to understand their needs. End users can participate in Proposer Day events to inform the R&D community of their interest in quantum technology and desired performance metrics.
3. Promoting appropriate partnerships for the development of new quantum sensors on a rolling basis, participating in joint field testing and evaluation of preliminary results. The acquisition, demonstration, and co-design of quantum sensors should help develop and validate new applications. For tracking and evaluation, it will be valuable to classify existing and new quantum sensor joint R&D efforts and their contributions to mature quantum sensing technologies.
4. Identify specific, high-value applications for quantum sensors that justify specialized engineering and manufacturing efforts. One of the outputs is a prioritized list of key components, along with specifications and plans for related engineering development.
5. Identify and prioritize an inventory of engineering infrastructure and R&D activities to address the enabling technology and application gaps for each activity. Estimate the time and investment required for each activity and its potential impact. Activities or infrastructure that contributes to numerous quantum applications should be encouraged.
6. Identify or establish an agency within the agency that can assist in addressing legal and policy issues in a manner that promotes the development of quantum sensor technology.
7. Track engineering and scientific breakthroughs, bibliometrics, participants, patents, licensing of quantum sensing technologies, and sales or revenue from quantum sensors, and track key components or enabling technologies at home and abroad.
Once suitable technologies have been identified through coordination activities, over the next 3-8 years, the R&D community and agencies in SCQIS should strive to:
1. Work with end users to perform field testing and demonstrations to accelerate early adoption and transition.
2. Prioritize component miniaturization and subsystem integration.
3. Develop and build R&D infrastructure through consortia and foundries.
4. Develop standards for established quantum sensor and component technologies.
While much fundamental science remains to be done, it is likely that entirely new concepts and platforms for quantum sensors will be discovered in the future, the strategy presented here focuses on field testing of prototype systems, as these have been identified as gaps requiring coordination that can support the entire QIST field. Existing mechanisms to support early exploratory QIST studies are an important source of new ideas and should not be superseded by these recommendations. A national strategy to bring quantum sensors from the lab to the market must facilitate the long process of technological development.
If this strategy is successfully implemented, a concerted effort to develop, demonstrate and utilize selected sensors will accelerate the spread of transformative products and services. In the process, early adopters will gain a first-mover advantage, and innovators and entrepreneurs will gain intellectual property. The increased availability of quantum components and devices will benefit many users, including scientists in other fields, thereby broadening the QIST R&D community. In sum, for the United States to realize the economic, security, and societal benefits of quantum technology, agencies should come together to enable the next generation of quantum sensors.
Link:
https://www.quantum.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/BringingQuantumSensorstoFruition.pdf
