These major grants go to three projects making
advances in sectors such as telecommunications and
biomedicine
VARENNES, QC, July 24,
2024 /CNW/ - Three promising projects led
by INRS professors will receive $7.4 million in funding over the next few
years. These initiatives aim to enhance quantum communication,
computing, and sensing capabilities by integrating photonics and
quantum technologies.
The projects, all of which are university-industry partnerships,
will be funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research
Council of Canada (NSERC) through
its Alliance Advantage grants program.
Alliance Advantage grants support initiatives that involve
collaboration between academia and partner organizations in the
private, public, or non-profit sectors. The purpose of these
partnerships is to quickly find impactful applications for
researchers' discoveries with real, tangible benefits for
Canada.
In recent years, there has been growing worldwide interest in
the potential power of quantum devices. Pushing the limits of
quantum science and technology promises unparalleled answers to
many of society's future challenges. The Quebec government has prioritized the sector
in its Quebec Research and Innovation Investment
Strategy (SQRI), and Canada
has a national strategy for quantum technologies.
INRS and its Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications Research
Centre (EMT) are at the forefront of progress in the industry.
"The EMT Research Centre has outstanding research teams and
infrastructure for developing quantum technologies," says its
director, Professor François Légaré. "Furthermore, through its
mission, INRS is addressing this key subject for Quebec and Canada's socioeconomic development."
Equipment for the internet of the future
The "Scalable solid-state semiconductor platform for on-chip
quantum communication" project will receive a grant of $1,170,000 over four years. Along with colleagues
from McGill University and
Polytechnique Montréal, the project is led by EMT Research Centre
Professor Sharif Sadaf, nanophotonics specialist and holder of
the Canada Research Chair in III-nitride Compound
Semiconductor Nanostructures and Devices. The team's goal is to
develop a platform of semiconductors called epitaxial quantum dots
(QDs) for efficient quantum light generation. These cutting-edge
semiconductors will make it possible to generate and
manipulate quantum photon states.
Known as single-photon sources (SPS) and capable of emitting one
photon at a time on demand, these kinds of devices are the basis
for many quantum technologies, such as quantum communication,
quantum computing, and quantum sensing. The platform that Professor
Sadaf and his colleagues aim to develop will be based on
III-nitrides, whose quantum emission properties have been shown to
be adjustable and controllable over a broad spectrum as well as at
room temperature. This characteristic makes for a plethora of
potential applications, particularly in terms of creating future
electronics and optoelectronics technologies, including computer
hardware, and developing next-generation on-chip quantum
communication linked to the internet of the future.
In addition to the aforementioned educational institutions, four
industrial partners will be working closely on the project: Xanadu,
CMC Microsystems, OptoElectronic Components, and Numana, all of
which are already active in quantum sector commercialization.
According to Professor Sadaf, the multidisciplinary project is
enormously important for quantum science and technology. "Reaching
our goal promises to bring about a major paradigm shift in the
field in Canada and around the
world," he emphasizes.
Improving cybersecurity and biomedicine
EMT Research
Centre Professor Roberto Morandotti, nonlinear optics specialist
and holder of the Canada Research Chair in Smart Programmable
Photonics, is heading up the "Advanced QUAntum applications via
complex states in integrated and meta optics (AQUA)"
project. It will receive $4,998,882 over five years. Four other EMT
professors are co-directing: Sharif Sadaf, José Azaña, Luca Razzari, and Bienvenu Ndagano.
The AQUA project aims to develop and commercialize quantum
communication, imaging, and sensing technologies based on
integrated photonic processing platforms and techniques. These
technologies are expected to be scalable and far more
energy-efficient than those currently known. They involve
high-throughput, high-bandwidth, multi-user quantum communication
networks, nanostructured metamaterials for advanced quantum
imaging, and innovative quantum sensing and imaging techniques
based on terahertz radiation, meta-optics, and single-photon
cameras.
The concrete aims of the AQUA project are intended to position
Canada as a leading source of
ultra-secure information systems and biomedical instruments with
improved diagnostic capabilities.
Collaborators include McGill
University, the University of
Toronto, the University of
Alberta, Université de
Sherbrooke, and Swinburne University
of Technology, in addition to the following industrial
partners: CMC Microsystems, COMBS, Enablence, few-cycle Inc., Ki3
Photonics Technologies, OptoElectronic Components, Pasqal,
SpectraCann, and Xanadu Quantum Technologies.
Unrivalled communications power
Lastly, the
"High-dimensional photonic systems for quantum information
processing" project has received funding totalling $1,275,000 over four years. It is also under the
direction of Roberto Morandotti, in collaboration with EMT Research
Centre Professor José Azaña, who held the Canada Research Chair in
Ultrafast Photonic Signal Processing until 2021.
The project's industrial partners are Ki3 Photonics Technologies
and OptoElectronic Components, which specialize in quantum
technology innovation and commercialization. Supported by a
complementary grant from PRIMA Québec (the Advanced Materials
Research and Innovation hub), the group's work aims to demonstrate
the feasibility of quantum internet.
To achieve this, Professors Morandotti and Azaña and their team
intend to develop and commercialize a scalable quantum photonic
processor based on complex photonic states. Their aim is to
implement high-dimensional quantum computing operations and
algorithms and set up a test bed for secure quantum communication
over fibre-optic links.
These research efforts will also be an excellent opportunity to
equip highly qualified emerging researchers with cutting-edge
knowledge in quantum photonic computing, quantum communications,
and quantum internet. "This will help establish an outstanding,
versatile workforce that will position INRS, Quebec, and Canada at the forefront of world leaders for
advances in these fields, which are incredibly strategic for the
future," says Roberto Morandotti. "We are very enthusiastic about
working on these promising projects."
About INRS
INRS is an academic institution dedicated exclusively to
graduate research and training in strategic sectors in Quebec. Since its creation in 1969, it has
actively contributed to Quebec's
economic, social, and cultural development. INRS ranks first in
Quebec and Canada in research intensity. It is made up of
four interdisciplinary research and training centres located in
Quebec City, Montreal, Laval, and Varennes, which focus their efforts on
strategic sectors: water, earth, and environment (Eau Terre
Environnement Research Centre); energy, materials, and
telecommunications (Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications Research
Centre); urbanization, culture, and society (Urbanisation
Culture Société Research Centre); and health and
biotechnology (Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie Research
Centre). The INRS community includes over 1,500 students,
postdoctoral fellows, and faculty and staff members.
SOURCE Institut National de la recherche scientifique (INRS)