The impacts of QMIC include
-2 patent applications on EPS(Fraunhofer) and SPAD chip(POLIMI)
-Several spec sheets,e.g. interferometric reader(ICFO)
-Prototypes shipped from ICFO to Zeiss & use for other customers
-Spin off project ShinePhi incubated at ICFO
-12 publications,participation in 15 conferences/workshops,4 press release and 3 videos launched (reach impact:5M general public)
Specific achievements that go beyond SoA
-Generation of photon pairs at <600nm using a cw pump laser with pair emission rates in excess of 1M pairs per sec
-Classical phase measurement at SP level with 810nm
-QE phase measurement with 810nm EPS
-24x24 frame-based SPAD array with time-of-flight,microlens array and dedicated electronics for fast acquisition
-24x24 event-driven readout SPAD array for direct coincidence output,microlens array and dedicated electronics for fast acquisition
-Detailed statistical analysis about expected SP and coincidence rates and 1st anticorrelation measurements using SPAD array
-New technology for distillation of quantum images from classical noise backgrounds and QI approach that uses SP cameras to isolate entangled photon pairs even in the presence of camera noise
-Initial feasibility tests with the LIM of representative optical elements for extreme-UV-lithography systems and related
Expected impacts
Scientific:For the 1st time,to perform QI in a compact form.This will allow to experimentally investigate the physics and potentials of quantum effects in a microscope platform and to provide new insights in the interaction of entangled photons and other quantum states with matter, like cells.We have demonstrated that QI distillation can reduce noise and potentially become a key technology for quantum microscopy based on the HOM effect.We have also demonstrated that short wavelength EPSs represent a competitive solution for increasing the detection efficiency of a QI protocol,which in free space exploits both polarization and position entanglement.From our results,hyperentangled-based imaging has proved to be a robust QI technique,that allows phase super-resolution when compared to classical imaging at low levels of light.
Technological:QMIC will pioneer and validate a new microscope exploiting the unique combination of interferometry and QE metrology to deliver a product of unprecedented sensitivity in the low power regime:1)Extreme sensitivity detection over a large field of view and volume,well beyond those obtainable today even with sophisticated super-resolution microscopes and microarray laser scanners.2)New quantum sources,such as those to produce entangled photons and NOON states,SPAD image sensors and their integration.3)Radically new paradigm on how to develop SPAD imager building blocks of the next decade.
Industrial/societal:We have already demonstrated the potential of the technology in several areas:QMIC platform detection of photosensitive biomarkers and cells;quantum distillation in lidar protocols,e.g. based on detection of entangled photons will require this technology in order to remove background and noise;new microlens array may be used for several project SME partner (MPD) products fostering its revenues and market competitiveness;LIM can enable critical process chains in the development of EUV-lithography systems (especially meaningful as the LIM has a comparatively large field of view and fast acquisition time,which makes it potentially better suited to be integrated into a workflow than other technologies);LIM platform has also the potential to become also an economically competitive tool for the qualitative and quantitative inspection of transparent parts as an in-line system
