Pillar 2: Detecting Microwaves with Light
Microwave signals form a crucial backbone of modern science and technology: they are the basis of modern telecommunication, they allow us to look to the sky to discover the history of the universe, and they are the way that quantum information is encoded in a superconducting quantum computer.
The Goal
Using cavity electro-optics, we will develop highly sensitive detectors of microwave signals, converting information from microwave electric fields into optical signals. In contrast to microwaves the latter can be detected directly and with quantum limited sensitivity without the use of amplifiers. By developing cavity-optic devices in new regimes of operation, we will enable optical detection of microwave fields approaching the fundamental sensing limits of quantum mechanics, with applications in microwave sensing and quantum information science.
Year 1 Achievements
In the first 12 months, the team has designed new device architectures specifically intended to reduce “noise,” allowing for the crystal-clear detection of even the faint signals on the level of individual photons. (TUD)