SBIR Phase I: Versatile Low-Noise Traveling-Wave Parametric Amplifier for Quantum Information Processing

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will result from the development of a traveling-wave parametric amplifier (TWPA) prototype suitable to be marketed to the Quantum Information Processing community. Quantum computers require extremely sensitive amplifiers operating near absolute zero to amplify weak signals. There are two critical features of this amplifier that will benefit the community directly: 1) the ability to have more qubits per amplifier - essential for large scale quantum computers, and 2) the ability to use a commercial manufacturing process. As quantum hardware continues to scale, so does the number of qubits, making multichannel amplifiers essential. European and Asian investment in quantum technology is growing at an alarming rate. The US is at risk of losing the leading position in this technical space. The commercialization of TWPA technology is an example of technologies required for the US to remain competitive in quantum technology. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will introduce a TWPA product prototype for the Quantum Information Processing market by addressing some of the interfacing, packaging and manufacturing limitations of experimental devices. Critical to the ability to distribute these amplifiers to the market is a means of manufacturing such devices at scale. A key advantage of the proposed technology is its ease of fabrication and the fact that it can be fabricated using an industry standard process, which will be demonstrated during the Phase I project. 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.