An engineer at Washington University’s McKelvey School of Engineering is developing a quantum photonic-dimer laser with a $1 million grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The technology uses pairs of light particles, or photonic dimers, to generate a powerful laser beam. This could improve military surveillance and communication in challenging environments like fog or extreme temperatures. The technology could also revolutionize applications in communication and imaging. Shen’s team, including graduate student Qihang Liu and collaborators from Texas A&M University, aims to create different states of two-color dimers at an unprecedented rate.
Quantum Photonic-Dimer Laser: A New Frontier in Quantum Technology
Jung-Tsung Shen, an associate professor in the Preston M. Green Department of Electrical & Systems Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, is pioneering a new frontier in quantum technology. With a two-year, $1 million grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the U.S. Department of Defense, Shen is developing a prototype of a quantum photonic-dimer laser. This innovative technology utilizes carefully controlled pairs of light particles, known as photonic dimers, to generate a powerful and concentrated beam of light, or laser.
The quantum photonic-dimer laser technology takes advantage of quantum effects to bind two photons together, thereby increasing their energy and efficiency. Photons, the particles that represent a quantum of light, travel at high speeds and do not carry a charge, making it challenging to manipulate them or get them to interact with each other. However, Shen’s lab has discovered a method to overcome this challenge by using the power of quantum mechanics to “glue” two photons of different colors together, forming a photonic dimer.
Quantum Entanglement: The Key to Photonic Dimer Technology
The key to this technology lies in a unique property of quantum mechanics known as quantum entanglement. This property creates a correlation between photons, which Shen’s team is exploiting to develop innovative applications. The entanglement between the two photons within the dimer could revolutionize applications in communication and imaging, offering unprecedented capabilities.
“Photons encode information when they travel, but the travel through the atmosphere is very damaging to them,” Shen explained. “When two photons are bound together, they still suffer the effects of the atmosphere, but they can protect each other so that some phase information can still be preserved.” These two-color dimers can be tailored to the atmosphere or to the fog through quantum entanglement, offering potential solutions to challenges in military surveillance and communication.
Potential Applications of Quantum Photonic-Dimer Lasers
Shen’s research has far-reaching implications beyond military applications. He previously received funding from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to develop the technology for deep brain imaging. By implanting fluorescent molecules in the brain and using photons to excite them, the photons can collect information about the brain’s structure.
Now, Shen is exploring more applications of this technology in telecommunications and quantum computing. His team, which includes graduate student Qihang Liu and collaborators from Texas A&M University’s Institute for Quantum Science & Engineering, is developing methods to create different states of two-color dimers at a rate of 1 million pairs per second – a rate that has never been achieved before.
The Future of Quantum Photonic-Dimer Lasers
The quantum photonic-dimer laser project is unique in its dual focus on generating novel strongly correlated quantum photonic states and developing the theoretical framework and advanced algorithms for their efficient detection. This dual focus could potentially revolutionize quantum imaging and communication.
As Shen and his team continue to explore the vast potential of quantum photonic-dimer lasers, they are not only pushing the boundaries of quantum technology but also contributing to the broader scientific community’s understanding of quantum mechanics. The McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, where Shen’s research is based, emphasizes scientific excellence, innovation, and collaboration, making it an ideal environment for this groundbreaking research.
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