The Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Alliance has backed quantum photonic research aiming to enable new sensing, imaging and communications methods with fresh funding.
The research, conducted by Professor Amr Helmy of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Toronto, is seen as a new way of mapping photonics.
Combining two types of photons in new applications
The funding from the NSERC Alliance grant will allow Helmy and his team to implement existing techniques onto photons with different wavelengths and colours, specifically in the radio frequency spectrum, such as cellular and Wi-Fi.
Specifically, the research team is looking to combine high and low-energy photons in communication and sensing applications. Conventionally, high-energy photons are typically used in fibre optics, while radio waves and microwaves are an example of low-energy photons.
Professor Amr Helmy, who will be working on the research, said: “The group is developing efficient techniques to generate nonclassical states of light – states where quantum mechanical properties are controlled and preserved – at two vastly different extremes of the electromagnetic spectrum. Typically, such states are generated at energies that are relatively close to each other, often overlapping, meaning the photons are usually produced at identical or similar frequencies. However, it would be highly advantageous for many applications to generate states with quantum optical properties at two widely separated energies.”
“Equally important, and made possible by the technologies the Helmy group is developing, is the ability to convert specific nonclassical states of photons from one energy band to another while preserving their quantum mechanical properties. This process is critical and has been extensively studied using various techniques.”
By combining the two types, the team are looking to overcoming long standing challenges, with traditional approaches that use high-energy photons in the near-infrared spectrum, impacting travel distance and wavelength which are determined by the specific spectrum used.
Explaining his work, Helmy said: “What makes our approach unique is how we’re combining both high and low energy photons where traditionally we utilised one option over another. This gives us the best of both worlds, which has broad-reaching applications in both research and industry, from communications to medical imaging and much more.”
Helmy said: “By linking the quantum properties of both low and high-energy photons, we aim to pioneer new types of sensing and bioimaging, while also enhancing the performance and range of communication systems.”
There are a range applications that will benefit from photon sensing and three-dimensional mapping such as lidar and radar, communications and even bio-imaging.
“There are advantages to using lidar technologies, which utilise higher energy photons, but these benefits don’t apply to radar, which relies on low energy photons,” Helmy commented. “Harnessing the ability to transition between high and low energy photon states is crucial in quantum computing. This capability of converting between different photon energies is essential for scaling various quantum computing architectures.”
The approach leverages recent discoveries within the group that harness optical nonlinearity, energy and momentum conservation technologies, as well as dispersion engineering, all within a platform that is many orders of magnitude smaller than conventional methods. Beneficially, the approach also has potential compatibility with common manufacturing processes, such as CMOS technology, which is widely used in electronic chip fabrication.
However, the methods do often require large devices and various degrees of cryogenic conditions, making them less energy efficient and impractical for many applications.
Supporting Canada’s burgeoning photonic scene
Backed by funding, the research will be conducted by the Helmy Group at the University of Toronto, within the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, over a period of four years. The goal is by the end of this period to have demonstrated sufficient potential to approach companies in Canada and beyond that specialise in utilising quantum optical effects.
Though the NSERC, supporting the implementation of the Government of Canada National Quantum Strategy, is also aiming to amplify Canada’s significant strengths in quantum research by funding other opportunities.
For example, another beneficiary of the NSERC grant at the University of Toronto is Joyce Poon, who is leading a team of researchers in a project investigating programmable photonic circuits – advanced photonic chips where the flow of light can be controlled and reconfigured using electronic signals.
Beyond the research at The University of Toronto, the NSERC have also backed quantum photonic projects being undertaken at the University of British Columbia and the University of Ottawa. Such research has focused on quantum materials and quantum sensing, imaging and communication, among other efforts.
Lead image: IEEE Spectrum
