Quantum technologies in Berlin: another Joint Lab launched
With the new Joint Lab “Integrated Nonlinear Quantum Optics”, the Ferdinand-Braun-Institut (FBH) is expanding its collaboration with Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU Berlin). The lab, launched at the beginning of July, is headed by quantum physicist Dr. Sven Ramelow from HU Berlin and strengthens the “Integrated Quantum Technology” research area at FBH. The aim of the Joint Lab is to link fundamental and application-oriented research in the field of sensor technology using quantum light even more tightly. The partners are pooling their ongoing activities in the highly efficient generation and conversion of quantum light. By integrating the associated functionalities, they aim to open up new applications in environmental analysis, medicine, and information processing. The new Joint Lab in quantum technologies – FBH’s fifth with HU Berlin and its eleventh overall – marks another strategic milestone in expanding Berlin’s quantum ecosystem.
More functionality for sensor technology thanks to quantum light
Quantum light consists of light particles (photons) that can be manipulated in such a way that pairs of them interact strongly with each other. To benefit from these quantum properties of light, entangled photon pairs are generated using a nonlinear crystal. One photon behaves exactly like the other, regardless of where it is currently located or what color it has. This phenomenon can be used for high-resolution imaging and spectroscopy in the mid-infrared range (MIR), among other things. This enables faster cancer diagnosis using more cost-effective near-infrared range instead of requiring more expensive and worse performing MIR light sources and detector systems. This approach also opens up a wide range of further applications in environmental analysis and biomedical diagnostics.
Another focus of the new Joint Lab is on the highly efficient generation of quantum light with entangled photons for quantum communication. It uses so-called SPDC (Spontaneous Parametric Down-Conversion) sources, which are based, for example, on aluminum gallium-arsenide waveguides. These can be used to generate entangled photon pairs very efficiently, which are required for quantum key distribution as well as for quantum sensor technology. An additional focus is on the conversion of quantum light, which is then used, for example, for frequency alignment in quantum networks. This allows different quantum systems in networks to be efficiently coupled to one another with the optimal wavelength for transmission in optical fibers. The research team is now bundling this work in the Joint Lab to make quantum light usable with more functionalities and for very specific applications.
Sven Ramelow – about
Sven Ramelow earned his PhD in Austria at the University of Vienna supervised by Prof. Dr. Anton Zeilinger. Further career milestones took him to the University of Queensland (Australia) and to Cornell University and Columbia University in New York (USA). He has been working with the FBH on various projects since 2019.
