An interdisciplinary team in the Department of Physics and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at The Ohio State University, with collaborators at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Chicago and the University of Iowa, has received $1 million from the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) National Quantum Virtual Laboratory (NQVL) program to create a technology roadmap for the development of quantum sensing of molecular and materials structure and functional properties. A second Ohio State team, partnered with the University of Michigan, received a similar award to develop a roadmap to build the first quantum chips that harness the precision of light for real-world measurements. These awards are two of 11 quantum testbeds established nationally that share the goal of demonstrating “quantum advantage,” the ability of quantum information-based technologies to outcompete existing approaches.

As part of the roadmap development process, the team will convene experts in quantum information science and technology with experts in the end-use applications of molecular and materials sensing, ranging from academic researchers in quantum materials to industrial researchers in catalysis and drug discovery. This codesign approach will help to focus research and development on the most critical and limiting challenges facing current applications, and in turn will forecast new directions enabled by breakthroughs in the fundamental science. The team will also begin work on validating new approaches to quantum sensing that promise to circumvent what was previously believed to be the fundamental limit on sensitivity, as well as the implementation of a modular approach to electrical readout that will dramatically expand the materials basis for future quantum sensors.

“Quantum information science is a broad field that promises breakthroughs in information technologies ranging from sensing, to communications, to computing,” said Ezekiel Johnston-Halperin, professor of physics at Ohio State and the program’s principal investigator. “While potential breakthroughs in computing are grabbing headlines, we are potentially much closer to a revolution in sensing at the atomic scale, where quantum sensing promises the ability to monitor the structure and behavior of individual molecules and atomic-scale properties of materials. This breakthrough would have wide-ranging impact on industries ranging from drug discovery to materials for microelectronics.”

This roadmap development is part of NSF’s broad push to develop quantum information technologies, supported by the 2018 National Quantum Initiative, and constitutes Phase 1 of a three-phase lifecycle for the quantum testbed program. Phases 2 and 3 will be focused on validation and execution of the roadmap.

The success of this program is supported by strategic investments in quantum information at Ohio State, including the establishment of the Center for Quantum Information Science and Engineering (CQISE) in 2021 and targeted hiring across multiple departments including physics, chemistry and math. The necessity for interdisciplinary collaboration in this rapidly emerging field is highlighted by the fact that Johnston-Halperin and professor of physics Jay Gupta are joined by Mars G. Fontana Professor of Metallurgical Engineering Glenn Daehn, whose dual role as principal investigator of the NSF-funded Engineering Research Center for Hybrid Autonomous Manufacturing, Moving from Evolution to Revolution (HAMMER) is key to establishing the codesign approach of this program.

“This award will leverage and enhance emerging educational efforts in QISE at Ohio State, including the NSF-funded Quantum Interdisciplinary Graduate Program (QuIGP) now being developed,” said Gupta. “Particularly exciting is how the interdisciplinary research and technology efforts funded here can translate to graduate student and workforce training.”

The National Science Foundation is introducing the National Quantum Virtual Laboratory (NQVL) concept as an overarching shared infrastructure designed to facilitate the translation from basic science and engineering to the resultant technology, while at the same time emphasizing and advancing its scientific and technical value. The NQVL aims to develop and utilize use-inspired and application-oriented quantum technologies.