NASA STTR 2020-II Solicitation

Proposal Summary

Proposal Information

Proposal Number:
20-2- T5.04-5429
Phase 1 Contract #:
80NSSC20C0643
Subtopic Title:
Quantum Communications
Proposal Title:
High-purity, high-rate, photon pair source for space-based entanglement distribution
SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN (SBC):
ADVR, Inc.
2310 University Way, Building 1-1
Bozeman, MT  59715 - 6504
Phone: (406) 522-0388
RESEARCH INSTITUTION (RI):
Lincoln Laboratory
244 Wood Street
Lexington, MA  02421 - 6426
Phone: (781) 981-2484

Principal Investigator (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)

Name:
Tony Roberts
E-mail:
roberts@advr-inc.com
Address:
2310 University Way, Building 1-1, Bozeman, MT 59715 - 6504
Phone:
(406) 522-0388

Business Official (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)

Name:
Betsy Heckel
E-mail:
heckel@advr-inc.com
Address:
2310 University Way, Building 1-1, Bozeman, MT 59715 - 6504
Phone:
(406) 522-0388
Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) :
Begin: 4
End: 5
Technical Abstract (Limit 2000 characters, approximately 200 words)

The overall goal of this NASA effort is to develop and deliver efficient, single-pass quantum optical waveguide sources generating high purity polarization entangled photon pairs for use in high-rate long-distance links. The key innovation in this effort is the use of efficient, low-loss spontaneous parametric down conversion (SPDC) waveguides in combination with apodized gratings to tailor the optical nonlinear response to create quantum optical states with very high purity. In addition, the photon pair generation rate for these devices is very high, while payload size, weight, and power (SWaP) are tiny. They offer a key technology required for deployment of space-to-ground links and future construction of a global quantum network.

Potential NASA Applications (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)

•           high rate, space-based quantum communication

•           foundation for quantum-repeater based satellite quantum network

•           quantum metrology for precision space-based navigation

•           space-based entanglement tests of quantum and gravitational theories

•           characterization, optimization, and calibration of photon starved detectors

•           ghost imaging

•           quantum telescope

Potential Non-NASA Applications (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)

•           ground-to-ground and space-to-ground fiber and free-space QKD

•           quantum metrology

•           quantum illumination

•           quantum-optics-based quantum computation

•           ground-based quantum networks using fiber-optic or free-space links

Duration: 24
Form Generated on 01/12/2022 20:58:55