Optical front-end for decoding advanced modulation formats

该项目包括开发新的基于光纤的工具，用于电信、生物医学和量子应用。通常具有2个输入和3或4个输出的全光纤组件可以取代目前市场上的组件（例如所谓的90°光学混合）。商业上可用的混合光纤是基于昂贵的替代技术（微光学），光纤到光纤的损耗相对较高。全纤维组件减轻了这些问题，因为它们成本相对较低，并且与光纤网络（如电信和传感网络）以及远程成像系统（如医疗内窥镜）内在兼容。由于能够进行明确的相位测量，所建议的组件在这些领域中提供了新的功能。在电信网络中，它们可以提高信噪比，并允许使用更先进的协议。对于成像系统，由设备提供的相位信息转化为3D成像的深度信息。这些组件在量子信息中也有应用，因为它们允许在量子极限下实现高级量子密钥分发协议和测量。

The project consists in developing new fibre-based tools for use in telecommunications, biomedical, and quantum applications. All-fibre components with typically 2 inputs and 3 or 4 outputs can replace components (such as the so-called 90° optical hybrids) currently on the market. The commercially available hybrids are based on costly alternative technologies (micro-optics) with relatively high fibre-to-fibre losses. All-fibre components mitigate these problems as they are relatively low-cost and inherently compatible with optical fibre networks, such as telecommunication and sensing networks, and remote imaging systems, e.g. in medical endoscopy. The proposed components provide new functionalities in these domains, thanks to their capacity to make unambiguous phase measurements. In telecommunication networks, they can improve the signal-to-noise ratio and enable the use of more advanced protocols. For imaging systems, the phase information provided by the devices translates into depth information for 3D imaging. These components also have applications in quantum information, as they allow the implementation of advanced quantum key distribution protocols and measurements at the quantum limit.