Collaborative Research: FET: Medium: Design and Implementation of Quantum Databases

Quantum systems can in principle store and process data faster than conventional digital systems. Achieving such speedup in practice, however, is often hindered by the difficulties in: (i) quickly accessing data in quantum superposition, and (ii) reliably manipulating quantum data in the presence of high error rates inherent in quantum devices. Current technologies designed for quantum processing units (QPUs) lack this interface to access data at scale, also known as the quantum I/O bottleneck. This effort develops the systems architecture for quantum databases (QDBs) that provide crucial data input for QPUs to process efficiently and reliably. Building on recent significant progress in quantum random access memory (QRAM) technologies, the program identifies the key software and hardware advances needed to translate proof-of-principle demonstrations into viable, scalable platforms. At the core of the envisioned quantum database (QDB) systems is the development of QRAM architectures that allow low-latency and high-fidelity queries. The investigators of this program study the hardware and software requirements for functional, fault-tolerant QRAM architectures, develop simulation and benchmarking tools, and present new algorithms enabled by QDBs. An extensive set of education and outreach activities is included in the program to foster the growth of future quantum computing workforce and promote a deeper understanding of the potential and limitations of quantum memory and databases. 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.