UMD Researchers Awarded $1 Million Grant from NSF to Develop New Methods to Generate Single Photons for Quantum Research

Project could enable new advanced quantum research and technology and could yield new ways to connect electronic circuits and photonic devices.

A team from the University of Maryland has been awarded $1 million by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop methods for generating single photons at room temperature in semiconducting carbon nanotubes. The project, which could result in new interfaces between electronic circuits and photonic devices, is part of a $31 million NSF effort to fund transformational quantum research that will enable the United States to lead a new quantum technology revolution. 

The NSF funded the project, “Integrated Circuits of Single-Photon Sources from Organic Color-Centers,” as part of an initiative known as Research Advanced by Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering—Transformational Advances in Quantum Systems (RAISE-TAQS). The RAISE-TAQS effort is designed to encourage scientists to pursue exploratory, cutting-edge concepts in quantum research.

"Single-photon sources are a fundamental element for quantum information science and technology. However, it has been extremely difficult to prepare single photons with high efficiency,” said YuHuang Wang, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UMD and the principal investigator of the grant. “If successful, this work may further lead to a high-quality single-photon source that can be integrated directly into solid-state devices for photonic quantum information processing."

To read more, visit https://cmns.umd.edu/news-events/features/4236