Quantum research

The QT Assemble project joins 14 UK organizations in their aim to develop faster, more reliable, miniaturized quantum technologies.

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The QT Assemble project, led by Fraunhofer’s Centre for Applied Photonics (CAP), will make quantum technology easier to adopt by addressing the challenges of size, weight, power and reliability of systems. Through the development of reliable integrated components and sub-systems, the project goal is to widen current opportunities and open up new markets for navigation, communications, sensing and computing.

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In terms of laser development, Skylark works to increase Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of its lasers as key components for the emerging commercial QT market, while reducing the cost, power consumption and footprint.  

Quantum technologies are braced to have a similarly wide and ubiquitous social impact that electronics have enjoyed since the invention of the transistor, but to achieve this it will be necessary to miniaturize all the component subsystems, in particular the single-frequency lasers sources needed to manipulate the quantum states of atoms and ions. In this project we will develop ultra-compact solid-state lasers, using an innovative design to extend the wavelength coverage and functionality of microchip lasers.

 

The development of such compact and rugged sources of single-frequency light sources will be instrumental in paving the way for quantum technologies to reach their full potential and make the transition from research labs and large scale installations into industrial and consumer markets.

 

Funded by UKRI, Skylark with Fraunhofer UK and University of Birmingham have successfully completed the project.

Despite our increasing ability to detect and monitor objects that exist on land, sea, around buildings or in space, our ability to detect objects beneath the ground has not improved significantly. When it comes to attempting to locate a buried and forgotten pipe, judging the extent of a sink hole or assessing the quality of infrastructure we still often resort to digging or drilling holes. This presents a huge economic and societal cost as road networks are dug up, oil wells are dry or brown-field land is left undeveloped. Existing techniques are all fundamentally limited in either their sensitivity (classical microgravity), their penetration (ground penetrating Radar) or their cost (seismic).

For over 30 years, universities and academics have been exploiting the strange effects of quantum superposition to measure gravity with astonishing sensitivity. Using a process called cold-atom interferometry, the wave-partial duality of a rubidium atom is compared to the phase of a laser beam in a way which can detect very small changes in the way atoms fall freely in a vacuum. Changes in this free-fall can be used to determine the local strength of gravity and if this measurement is sensitive enough, the measurement can be used to tell whether there are voids, pipes, tunnels, oil and gas reserves in the ground beneath your feet.

This project is proposed by a UK consortium of the best scientific and engineering companies the UK has to offer. Working with leading UK universities, these companies are looking to overcome these challenges, and develop a new industry of cold-atom sensors in the UK. If these advanced performances can be demonstrated, the economic and societal benefit of this industry in the UK is expected to be significant and long-lasting.

 

The project is led by RSK and consists of 12 partners, with funding from UKRI. Skylark is proud to be a part of this project in supplying a high output power 780 nm single frequency laser.

Quantum technologies are braced to have a similarly wide and ubiquitous social impact that electronics have enjoyed since the invention of the transistor, but to achieve this it will be necessary to miniaturize all the component subsystems, in particular the single frequency laser sources needed to manipulate the quantum states of atoms and ions.

 

Together with Fraunhofer UK and supported by UKRI, we have developed ultra-compact solid-state lasers, using an innovative design to extend the wavelength coverage and functionality of microchip lasers. The development of such compact and rugged sources of single-frequency light sources will be instrumental in paving the way for quantum technologies to reach their full potential and make the transition from research labs and large scale installations into industrial and consumer markets.

Quantum technologies are considered to have a similarly wide and ubiquitous social impact that electronics have enjoyed after the invention of the transistor, but to achieve this it will be necessary to make a vital transition from research labs and large scale installations into industrial and consumer markets. In particular, the development of compact and rugged single-frequency light sources is required by QT to manipulate the quantum states of atoms and ions.

 

In this project UKRI-supported, we will develop a compact single frequency solid-state laser for controlling quantum states of strontium atoms via light-matter interaction at their near-IR transition at 813nm, using our innovative proprietary technology platform. We will reduce the size and cost of this critical component enormously, without losing performance, in order to place the UK at the vanguard of QT development and commercialization.