Quantum information science (QIS) gives rise to new, exciting paradigms for communications, sensing, and computing. The research and development of QIS-enabled science and technologies in the U.S., however, is impeded by the limited availability of quantum resources that require specialized expertise to generate and maintain. The INterdisciplinary QUantum Information REsearch (INQUIRE) central-campus instrument removes the barrier to access quantum resources for a broad scientific and student pool at the University of Arizona (UA). The INQUIRE instrument is the world's first shared major facility as a test-bed to foster interdisciplinary research and student training in QIS, an area identified as both a national and NSF-wide priority. This new instrument enables the convergence of QIS with diverse fields. INQUIRE is an accessible, multiuser, networked platform that communicates quantum resources over a unique fiber network between campus buildings, colleges, and scientific disciplines. Quantum entangled photons arrive from INQUIRE on demand to various laboratories conducting research in photonics, quantum-communications, bioimaging and sensing, and materials science. These laboratories use entangled photons in experiments and then route the processed light back to the INQUIRE instrument for ultrasensitive measurements. In doing so, groups with no QIS expertise enjoy state-of-the-art quantum resources to greatly foster the incorporation of QIS into diverse fields and create unprecedented research and education capabilities. Diverse early-career researchers, graduate students, and undergraduate students in the UA Colleges of Engineering, Science, and Optical Sciences, and visiting researchers from other regional and national institutions benefit directly from advanced research and research training with the INQUIRE instrument, and pursue QIS-enabled science and technologies to benefit the society. Teaching laboratories at UA use INQUIRE to inspire STEM students to pursue QIS education and careers, and to develop the next-generation workforce who can apply the essential concepts of QIS to benefit U.S. society. In addition, middle-school and high-school students visit the QIS teaching laboratory to participate in QIS-based experiments, and open-house events provide local community tours of INQUIRE.
The INQUIRE instrument has: 1) three high-brightness entangled-photon sources operating at telecommunication wavelengths; 2) fiber optic links over a significant fraction of the UA campus that link five different buildings and disciplines; 3) optical switching to route entangled photons to multiple users and then back to INQUIRE's single-photon detectors for ultrasensitive measurements; and 4) a robust, safe, and accessible user and administrator software interface. This central instrument delivers unique light sources to multiple scientific disciplines such as biomedical engineering and materials science, and offers a first-of-its-kind platform to explore the beginnings of quantum information processing (QIP) and sharing. Research examples include QIP with two-dimensional materials, broadband quantum-communication networks, photobleaching-free biomedical imaging, and photonic quantum computing. The unprecedented capabilities include: 1) all resources are remotely accessed without requiring prior experimental QIS background to seamlessly integrate into a variety of end users' experimental pursuits; 2) the INQUIRE resources can be simultaneously accessed by multiple users, thereby maximizing the instrument's utilization; 3) a user-friendly software interface enables end users to remotely and safely configure the entangled-photon sources and take measurements; and 4) the administrator has a software interface to maintain and monitor the state of INQUIRE. Such an infrastructure provides highly automated management of this unique multiuser resource, and ensures the long-term stability and robustness of the instrument.
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.
