The Synthetic Quantum Nanostructures (SynQuaNon) programme aims to discover new nanoelectronic materials for robust quantum information science devices and sensors. Current quantum computing, sensing, communications, and signal-processing technologies rely on superconducting electronic devices that can manipulate or process information at quantum levels of precision. However, these devices need to be cooled to a fraction of a degree above absolute zero, which requires large refrigeration units that draw significant electrical power. This limits the scalability of current technology to achieve more robust quantum computing and sensing devices.
The Synthetic Quantum Nanostructures (SynQuaNon) Programme
The SynQuaNon programme, initiated by DARPA, aims to address the challenge of scalability with a fundamental science effort that seeks to develop synthetic metamaterials to enable enhanced functionalities and novel capabilities for quantum information science. The programme will explore new manmade materials that allow for higher operating temperatures to significantly reduce size, weight, and power (SWaP) requirements. The programme calls for demonstrating the new quantum materials in functional devices of relevance to quantum information science applications.
The Impact of Increasing Operating Temperature
Increasing the operating temperature for new superconducting nanoelectronic devices by a factor of 10 could reduce the size of the refrigerator required for cooling by more than a factor of 100, according to Dr. Mukund Vengalattore, programme manager in DARPA’s Defense Sciences Office. By reducing the power and cooling overhead required, the SWaP can be significantly reduced, as well as improving other device-relevant metrics.
Beyond Lab Development
The SynQuaNon programme is not just focused on lab development, but also on demonstrating metamaterials on testable devices. The goal is to produce a material that is device friendly, that can be plugged directly into all sorts of applications. The questions being asked within SynQuaNon are: ‘Can we create synthetic materials that can enhance or tune specific properties – like the superconducting temperature? Can we incorporate such synthetic materials within superconducting devices for better performance or new capabilities for quantum information science?’
Potential Advances and Applications
If SynQuaNon is successful, advances could include more stable superconducting quantum bits (qubits), which would benefit the quantum computing community by allowing state-of-the art quantum computers to scale to larger sizes. Novel synthetic nanomaterials could also allow for single-photon detectors to operate at higher temperatures or faster response rates, enabling detection of a single photon with increasing speed. Single-photon detectors are useful for quantum computing applications where information is stored in a single photon, but they’re also useful for a host of scientific and defense applications requiring precise detection of very dim objects. A third potential application area is general RF (radio frequency) amplification devices. Some electronic radio frequency devices, called superconducting parametric amplifiers, operate at very low temperatures and are also limited by the inherent physical properties of existing superconductors. By modifying these properties with materials engineering approaches in SynQuaNon, these RF amplifiers could be made smaller and more inexpensively, and they could operate at higher temperatures with less noise.
“If we can increase the operating temperature for new superconducting nanoelectronic devices by a factor of 10, for example, the size of the refrigerator required for cooling goes down by more than a factor of 100,” said Dr. Mukund Vengalattore, program manager in DARPA’s Defense Sciences Office. “By reducing the power and cooling overhead required, we can reduce the SWaP significantly as well as improve other device-relevant metrics.”
“The goal is to produce a material that is device friendly, that can be plugged directly into all sorts of applications,” said Vengalattore. “In essence, the questions we are asking within SynQuaNon are: ‘Can we create synthetic materials that can enhance or tune specific properties – like the superconducting temperature? Can we incorporate such synthetic materials within superconducting devices for better performance or new capabilities for quantum information science?’”
Summary
DARPA’s Synthetic Quantum Nanostructures (SynQuaNon) programme is developing new nanoelectronic materials to enhance quantum computing and sensing devices, aiming to increase their operating temperature and reduce their size, weight, and power requirements. If successful, the programme could lead to more stable quantum bits (qubits) for larger quantum computers, faster single-photon detectors, and smaller, more efficient radio frequency amplifiers.
- The Synthetic Quantum Nanostructures (SynQuaNon) program is seeking to develop new nanoelectronic materials for robust quantum computing devices and sensors.
- Current quantum technology requires superconducting electronic devices to be cooled to near absolute zero, which requires large refrigeration units and significant electrical power. This limits the scalability of the technology.
- DARPA’s SynQuaNon program aims to address this issue by developing synthetic metamaterials that can operate at higher temperatures, reducing size, weight, and power requirements.
- Dr. Mukund Vengalattore, program manager in DARPA’s Defense Sciences Office, stated that increasing the operating temperature of these devices could significantly reduce the size of the required refrigeration unit and power usage.
- The program’s goal is to create synthetic materials that can enhance or tune specific properties, such as the superconducting temperature, and incorporate these materials into superconducting devices for better performance.
- If successful, the SynQuaNon program could lead to more stable superconducting quantum bits (qubits), allowing quantum computers to scale to larger sizes. It could also enable single-photon detectors to operate at higher temperatures or faster response rates, and make radio frequency amplifiers smaller, cheaper, and able to operate at higher temperatures with less noise.
- The SynQuaNon program builds on the recently released Disruption Opportunity (DO) by the same name, which focuses on developing theory and modelling to inform the full program.