High Quantum Efficiency Detectors

量子技术是英国工业战略的核心资产。由于量子计算机解决了目前棘手的计算问题，它们将确保数字世界的安全，看到当前摄像机无法做到的地方，并支撑新药的研发。在与大学和研究中心的合作下，英国高科技产业正在努力将它们从科学概念转化为可用的技术、产品和能力。为了支持这一挑战，政府和行业已经承诺提供超过10亿英镑的资金。光子学是引领量子技术发展和部署的领域之一。光可以携带量子安全通信，测量微弱信号，如引力波，并解决量子算法。基于光子的量子技术要么需要一次测量一个光子（单光子探测器），要么需要以最小的损失记录连续的量子光信号（比例探测器），以保留使它们不同于经典光的特征。在这里，我们讨论量子光学技术的第二种方法。今天，基于这种测量方案的应用是有限的，探测器是由研究人员在家里建造的，通常在时间和金钱上花费很大。通过这个项目，我们加入了Bay Photonics（光学封装和光电子学），RedWave Labs（电子学）的专业知识和能力，过程创新中心（光子应用）的经验和资源以及斯特拉斯克莱德大学和格拉斯哥大学的研究团队（量子源，低噪声电子，量子计量），设计，建造和测试量子传感器的原型，能够解决市场和供应链中的这一差距。我们的目标是为测量由数千到数十亿光子组成的光的量子态提供第一个商业解决方案。过程创新中心和大学小组的参与，一方面将有助于产品的设计，另一方面，将作为已开发技术的最终用户测试。这一努力的结果将是高灵敏度测量的通用解决方案，为量子计量和量子计算的一些最先进的概念提供支持。

Quantum technologies are a core asset in the UK industrial strategy. They will secure the digital world, see where current cameras cannot, and underpin new drugs, thanks to quantum computers solving currently intractable calculations. In collaboration with the Universities and Research Centres, UK high-tech industries are working on translating them from scientific concepts to available technologies, products, and capabilities. To support this challenge, more than £1Billion has been committed in both Government and Industry funding. Photonics is one of the sectors leading the development and deployment of quantum technologies.Light can carry quantum-secured communications, measure faint signal such as gravitational waves, and solve quantum algorithms. Photonics-based quantum technologies are either required to measure single photons one at a time (single-photon detectors) or to record continuous quantum light signals (proportional detectors) with minimal losses to retain the signatures that make them different from classical light. Here we address this second approach to quantum optical technologies. Today, applications based on such measurement schemes are limited, and detectors are home-built by researchers, often at significant cost in time and monetary. With this project, we join the expertise and capabilities of Bay Photonics (optical packaging and optoelectronics), RedWave Labs (electronics), the experience and resources of the Centre for Process Innovation (photonic applications) and of research teams at the Universities of Strathclyde and Glasgow (quantum sources, low-noise electronics, quantum metrology) to design, build and test a prototype of a quantum sensor able to address this gap in the market and supply chain. We aim to provide the first commercial solution for measuring quantum states of light composed of thousands to several billion photons. The engagement of the Centre for Process Innovation and the University teams will, on the one hand, contribute to the design of the product, and on the other, serve as an end-user test for the developed technology. The outcome of this endeavour will be a versatile solution for the high sensitivity measurements empowering quantum metrology and some of the most advanced concepts of quantum computing.