Commercialization of Quantum Technologies a Priority for NIST in 2023
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is spearheading applied quantum research in 2022 and hopes to further support this growing industry in the coming year.
Quantum sensing and quantum-resistant cryptography (PQC) are two technologies that NIST researchers will prioritize in the coming year as researchers focus on the groundwork behind commercial applications of quantum technologies.
James Kushmerick, director of NIST's Physical Measurement Laboratory, said the next step in the agency's fight against quantum cryptography is to standardize the anti-quantum algorithms released earlier this year. He said, "Anti-quantum cryptography is very important, and NIST has identified four algorithms that they are working with the community through the standardization process at ....... PQC is definitely an area of high priority where there is continued work to be done."
He believes that continued collaboration with laboratories and experts in the private sector, industry and academia will continue to help drive new quantum science research, particularly within the Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C). In addition to the actual development of new technologies, the collaborating institutions will provide a holistic perspective on how to support the entry of quantum technologies into the commercial marketplace.
He cited projects like NIST on a Chip, which has quantum devices and sensors that provide precise measurements in a single software chip. kushmerick said NIST is seeking new partnerships with industry leaders to produce durable products suitable for market sale.
Despite the demand, scalability and commercialization are two of the biggest challenges facing scientists. says Kushmerick, "One of the real advantages is that we can see the space before the competition. Then, together, we can solve problems that are not unique to any one application or any one technology, but are needed in all fields."
Kushmerick cited the development of related low-cost, low-power infrastructure technologies, such as cryogenic coolers that keep quantum processing systems cool, as an example of the need to develop a larger infrastructure to make quantum technologies sustainable.
Many quantum systems need to be cooled to near absolute zero," he said. There are different ways to do that: you can use liquid helium, you can use dilution chillers. Many of these are large laboratory-scale systems. If you ...... need cooling to install these at each site, for example, if you're going to build a sensor network or something like that, you need to be able to do it at a much smaller size, weight and power consumption, and at a low enough cost to actually deploy it. If it's $2 million a ...... no one is going to be able to afford it."
Despite the innovations in quantum sensing technology and quantum-resistant cryptography standards, Kushmerick noted that NIST is still working on a range of other applications related to its core mission around measurement standardization. "We need advances in superconducting quantum bits, ion trapping and photonics, so we have plans across all major technology paths so we can recognize and develop the metrology required in them," he said.
While maintaining industry collaboration, NIST is also committed to promoting U.S. leadership in developing open standards to level the playing field in the emerging technology industry. Some entities try to narrowly define standards to lock in markets or prevent people from entering them," he said. So that's where the U.S. as a whole really needs to get involved."
Kushmerick warned that a massive explosion in quantum technology remains far away until any use or consensus standards come into play, and suggested that stable federal support serves as the final piece of the puzzle to establish a commercial quantum industry.
Quantum technology will take a while - even though we have separate quantum bits and things like that - to really scale up, and we'll need a concerted effort across government to really make that happen," he said . We have to take a long-term approach."
Reference link:
https://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/2022/12/quantum-techs-path-commercialization-will-be-2023-nist-priority/381203/
