Cooperative Agreement D24AC00166

The University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) received a $5,459,111 Cooperative Agreement award from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Research and Technology Development program (CFDA 12.910) to develop compact, ultralow-noise optical detectors that employ squeezed-light measurement techniques to advance precision optical sensing. The award supports fundamental research with potential defense and civilian applications. UCSB is collaborating with Massachusetts Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology, and the University of Virginia on this effort. Key research tasks include design, fabrication, and testing of integrated silicon nitride and III-V pump and squeezer chips, development of custom electronic control and readout circuitry, and system-level integration and demonstrations. The award has a performance period from July 2024 to January 2026.