Physicist Erik Baalbergen develops photon-counting detector for quantum computing
Physicist Erik Baalbergen at Leiden University has developed a new light detector capable of counting exact photon numbers for optical quantum computers.
New technique distinguishes multiple photons
The research team created a method to tell the difference between one, two, and three photons arriving simultaneously. Previously existing devices could only indicate whether light particles were present or absent without specifying the quantity. This new capability allows optical quantum computers to use photons for precise calculations.
Detector combines optics and electronics
Baalbergen notes that the project merges fields of optics, electronics, and solid-state physics during his doctoral research. He defended his thesis on photon-number resolution with superconducting nanowires on November 3 at Leiden University. The detector forms a key building block for future optical quantum computer systems.
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