Time-to-digital converter for time-resolved multi-photon coincidence measurements

用于时间分辨多光子符合测量的时间数字转换器

• 批准号: RTI-2017-00229
• 负责人: Tittel, Wolfgang
• 金额: $ 10.78万
• 依托单位: University of Calgary
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Research Tools and Instruments
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2016-01-01 至 2017-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=616601
• 关键词: Time; digital; converter; time; resolved

Entanglement is the physical property that marks the most striking deviation of the quantum from the classical world. From a fundamental point-of-view, the possibility to create and distribute entangled photons to distant locations is fascinating because it leads to verifiable contradictions between predictions based on local realistic theories and those based on quantum mechanics (such verifications are known as tests of a “Bell-inequality”). On the other hand, entangled photons are at the heart of quantum teleportation, quantum repeaters and quantum networks, which allow the provably-secure distribution of encryption keys using quantum key distribution (QKD) and ultimately quantum communication with and between future quantum computers. Such a network will ensure secure communications within and between government departments and for the health and banking industries, businesses and individuals; allow one to send a computational task to a distant quantum cloud computer without anybody - not even the computer itself - being able to learn the task; and result in truly mind-boggling computational performance, e.g. for rapidly finding ‘a needle in a haystack’ (e.g. a specific entry in an unsorted database), for machine learning (e.g. for analyzing big data), and for understanding chemical reaction dynamics (e.g. to create better pharmaceuticals and refined petroleum products). Our long-term goal is the creation of a Canada-wide quantum network. This grant will allow purchasing a time-to-digital converter (TDC) for highly time-resolved coincidence measurements of detection signals created by up to eight single-photon detectors. The TDC is urgently required for near-future experiments with multiple entangled photon pairs that line the path towards a quantum network. Its timely acquisition will remove an important bottleneck that currently impacts further developments in the Tittel group: a limit in the maximum photon detection rate that our current TDCs can deal with; as well as the problem that our current devices start to deteriorate and may soon become dysfunctional. In addition to creating highly qualified personnel at various career levels and advancing the fields of quantum optics and quantum communication, our research, through the acquisition of this TDC, will ensure that Canada, after a lot of investment into quantum communication during the past decade, remains competitive in this important area.

纠缠是标志着量子与古典世界最引人注目的物理特性。从基本观点来看，创建和分发纠缠的照片到遥远的位置的可能性令人着迷，因为它导致基于本地现实理论和基于量子力学的预测之间的预测之间的可验证矛盾（这种验证称为“钟声 - 肾小管的测试”）。另一方面，纠缠的照片是量子传送，量子中继器和量子网络的核心，它们允许使用量子密钥分布（QKD）的加密密钥的安全分布，并最终与未来量子计算机之间的量子通信。这样的网络将确保政府部门内部和卫生和银行业，企业和个人之间的安全通信；允许一个人将计算任务发送到遥远的量子云计算机，而没有任何人（甚至计算机本身）能够学习任务；并导致真正令人难以置信的计算表现，例如为了迅速找到“在干草堆中的针头”（例如，在未分类数据库中的特定条目），用于机器学习（例如，用于分析的大数据），以及了解化学反应动态（例如，创建更好的药物和精制的石油产品）。我们的长期目标是建立一个加拿大范围的量子网络。 该赠款将允许购买一个数字转换器（TDC），用于高度时间分辨的重合测量值，该测量值最多由八个单光子检测器创建。对于多个纠缠的光子对，将TDC迫切需要，将路径沿通向量子网络的路径对线进行。它的及时收购将消除一项重要的瓶颈，该瓶颈目前会影响Tittel组的进一步发展：我们当前TDC可以处理的最大光子检测率的限制；以及我们当前设备开始检测到的问题，并可能很快变得功能失调。除了在各种职业水平上创建高素质的人员并推进量子光学和量子通信领域外，我们的研究还将通过获得该TDC来确保在过去十年中对量子通信进行大量投资后，在这一重要领域中，加拿大在量子交流中保持竞争力。