Duncan Steel, Robert J. Hiller Professor of Engineering, Professor of
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, as well as professor of
Physics, Applied Physics, and the Biophysics Program, and Senior Research
Scientist at the Institute of Gerontology, is a member of the newly instituted Multidisciplinary
University Research Initiative (MURI) funded by the Army Research Office to
study Quantum Optical Circuits
of Hybrid Quantum Memories.
The stated objective is to investigate and demonstrate optically-coupled
hybrid quantum circuitry, with the aim of exploiting particular features of
various quantum platforms for enhanced quantum information capabilities. The
group will demonstrate quantum optical interfaces between (a) atomic systems
having excellent coherence and memory properties, (b) solid state systems
with high-speed operations and scalable architectures, and (c) optical
photonic systems with long-distance communication capabilities.
Prof. Steel will concentrate his efforts on solid state systems.
Specifically, he will work with epitaxially grown InAs/lGaAs semiconductor
quantum dots. His experimental team will implement an interface between the
solid state quantum processor and the photonic pulses, which can carry
quantum information to distant locations. His team will generate
entanglement between a photon and the spin of an electron or hole contained
in a semiconductor quantum dot. This will eventually lead to a
reconfigurable quantum optical circuit that can connect different quantum
platforms such as the atomic memory and the solid state quantum processor.
Joining him in this effort will be the condensed matter group at the Naval
Research Laboratory headed by Dan Gammon and the quantum optics group at the
University of Illinois, directed by Prof. Paul Kwiat.
The first phase of the grant will allow the investigators to pave the way
for the eventual quantum linkage of an atomic and solid-state quantum
memory. They will integrate quantum memories to photonic and chip devices in
both trapped ion/atom and quantum dot (QD) systems. U-M Physics professor
Luming Duan, theorist in quantum optics, quantum information, and atomic
physics, will study the challenges associated with impedance matching
between the disparate platforms.
The Quantum Optical Circuits of Hybrid Quantum Memories MURI is based
at the Joint Quantum Institute at the University of Maryland, and along with
Michigan includes experimental and theoretical groups from University of
Illinois, Duke University, Naval Research Laboratory, and UC-San Diego.
Posted: November 11, 2009 by
Catharine June
EECS/ECE Communications Coordinator
cmsj@umich.edu or 734-936-2965
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