A collaborative research team involving faculty from Electrical and Computer Engineering, Physics, and Chemistry were awarded a 2021 Catalyst Grant through the President’s Research Excellence (PRE) program to develop novel quantum bits for quantum information science and technology (QIST). Catalyst Grants are university-wide awards that support cross- and interdisciplinary teams to pursue high impact research that addresses challenges of societal importance.

Quantum information science and technology (QIST) involves harnessing the superposition and entanglement of quantum mechanical objects with primary applications spanning quantum computing, sensing, communications, and metrology.  The building blocks of quantum systems are quantum bits, which rely on superposition and entanglement to encode and process information beyond the limitations of binary zeros and ones. QIST targets advances in scientific calculations of quantum materials and chemical systems, advances in encryption for secure information transfer, accelerated machine learning, and enhanced resolution in imaging and detection, to name a few.

The interdisciplinary team includes Professor Ronald M. Reano, Principal Investigator, in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Co-Investigators Professors Daniel Gauthier, Ezekiel Johnston-Halperin, Roland Kawakami, and Gregory Lafyatis in the Department of Physics, and Assistant Professor Alexander Sokolov in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Central to the research effort is the incorporation of erbium ions into transformative hosts in integrated photonic platforms. The erbium approach is attractive because of optical transitions at 1550 nm wavelength which is in the low loss region of optical fiber. The team will be investigating the creation of quantum bits from fundamental principles involving quantum theory, spectroscopy, and integrated waveguides.

The team was awarded $200,000 for their research. Further information on the PRE Catalyst Grant program and other selected programs can be found at: https://research.osu.edu/presidents-research-excellence-pre-catalyst-grant-program

Left to right: Prof. Dan Gauthier, Prof. Ezekiel Johnston-Halperin, Prof. Roland Kawakami, Prof. Greg Lafyatis