Single photon range imaging for natural gas sensing SPRINGS

气体传感是一个不断增长的市场，仅石油和天然气泄漏检测预计到2022年将增长到33.8亿美元。人们可以通过测量与气体分子中的键拉伸相关的红外吸收来检测单个气体种类。最灵敏的方法使用激光雷达（LIDAR）技术，特别是差分吸收激光雷达（DIAL），其中使用可调谐脉冲激光器来在线和离线获得传输数据，从而允许对吸收进行校准测量，从而测量气体浓度。现有的远程方法使用昂贵的脉冲固态激光器和标准雪崩检测方法。在SPRINGS，我们使用现成的通信二极管激光器和单光子计数检测来开发一种量子激光雷达，能够在200米的操作距离内检测行业所需的最低浓度的天然气泄漏。这使我们的灵敏度比市场上最接近的竞争对手提高了10倍，并实现了快速扫描和成像能力。一个重量轻、功耗低的版本可以安装在无人机上，以每小时30英里的速度测量管道和/或垃圾填埋场的气体泄漏检测。为了确保长期的领导地位，我们还开发了一种量子增强型原型，利用量子干涉和参数频率转换，将我们带到中红外波长，进一步提高10倍的性能。这也为石油和天然气勘探以及可能的爆炸物远程检测开辟了其他气体种类的可能性。该项目涉及布里斯托大学和三个中小企业工业合作伙伴。ID Quantique UK将提供单光子LIDAR核心技术平台，而QLM将增加气体传感能力，SKY Futures将提供工业环境中的无人机集成和验证。

Gas sensing is a growing market, with Oil & Gas leak detection alone expected to grow to $3.38B in 2022. One can detect individual gas species by measuring the infrared absorption associated with bond stretching in the gas molecules. The most sensitive methods use laser radar (LIDAR) techniques particularly differential absorption LIDAR (DIAL) where tunable pulsed lasers are used to obtain transmission data on and off-line allowing a calibrated measurement of absorption and thus gas concentration. Existing long range methods have used expensive pulsed solid state lasers and standard avalanche detection methods. Here in SPRINGS we use off-the-shelf communications diode lasers and single photon counting detection to develop a quantum inspired LIDAR capable of detecting the lowest concentration of natural gas leaks required by the industry out to a 200 metres operational distance. This brings a 10-fold sensitivity improvement over our closest competitor on the market and enables a fast scanning and imaging capability. A lightweight and low power, version could by mounted on a drone to delivers up to 30 miles per hour surveying speed for gas leak detection in pipelines and/or landfill sites. To ensure long-term leadership, we also develop a quantum-enhanced prototype, taking us to mid-IR wavelengths, for a further 10-fold performance gain, exploiting quantum interference and parametric frequency conversion. This also open up the possibility for other gas species for Oil & Gas exploration and possibly remote detection of explosives.The project involves University of Bristol and three SME industrial partners. ID Quantique UK will deliver the single photon LIDAR core technology platform while QLM adds the gas sensing capability and SKY Futures will provide drone integration and validation in industrial settings.