SBIR Phase I: End-to-End Compilation of Quantum Applications

The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is relevant to US national priorities. For example, potential applications of quantum computing include defense-related tasks such as aircraft and flight maneuver identification. Other promising quantum applications are prevalent in logistics problems and can impact American competitiveness in manufacturing. In addition, longer term horizons of quantum computing such as better fertilizer production would dramatically reduce global energy expenditures. The efficiency gains from the proposed end-to-end compilation techniques will address these objectives. The scientific advances funded by this research will enable quantum computing to be applied to a wider range of problems than previously envisioned. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project has the intellectual merit of accelerating the timeline for practical quantum computing. By achieving significant efficiency gains from cross-layer optimization spanning the full quantum stack, practical applications will be executable sooner than otherwise possible. The Phase I research will validate that three proposed quantum techniques outperform the state-of-art found in prevailing quantum research. This work will advance understanding of the ultimate potential and limits of near-term quantum computing. To date, there is still no consensus whether non-error-corrected quantum computers will ever outperform classical computers. To address this overarching research question, the proposed R&D will undertake the technical challenge of end-to-end compilation, which tailors execution of quantum applications to the underlying hardware. This requires eschewing traditional abstraction barriers which are convenient but incur efficiency losses due to indirection. Instead, the proposed work will take as direct a path as possible from the end-user application down to the underlying quantum hardware. Doing so will reveal the fundamental capacity of noisy quantum computers. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.