Application · Quantum Sensing
Detectors for quantum sensing and quantum imaging
Quantum sensing exploits non-classical states of light — entangled and squeezed photons, heralded single photons, photon correlations — to push below classical limits in sensitivity, resolution, and noise. Here the detector is not an accessory but part of the quantum experiment: its efficiency, jitter, and dark count rate decide which quantum advantages can actually be observed.
Where quantum sensing needs SWIR detectors
Many central quantum-sensing experiments operate with photon pairs or emitters whose relevant wavelength lies in the near-infrared or SWIR — exactly where silicon SPADs lose sensitivity.
Quantum imaging
Ghost imaging, sub-shot-noise imaging, and quantum-illumination experiments rely on heralded coincidence detection of correlated photon pairs in the NIR/SWIR.
Quantum-enhanced microscopy
Photon-correlation and entangled-photon microscopy probe biological samples at lower photon flux, where SWIR sensitivity reduces scattering and autofluorescence.
Quantum spectroscopy & OCT
Spectroscopy with undetected photons and quantum optical coherence tomography exploit entanglement across visible and SWIR bands — both halves must be detected with high efficiency.
Atomic, molecular & solid-state probes
Single-photon readout of trapped ions, NV centres, and rare-earth dopants increasingly demands NIR/SWIR coverage beyond what silicon SPADs provide.
Photon-pair source characterisation
Heralding, g⁽²⁾(0) measurements, and Hong-Ou-Mandel interference for telecom-band SPDC/SFWM sources need low-jitter, low-dark-count SWIR detectors.
Quantum networks & repeaters
Memory-assisted repeater nodes and entanglement distribution over fibre rely on field-deployable SWIR single-photon detectors at the network interface.
Detector requirements for quantum sensing
High photon detection efficiency
Coincidence rates scale with η², so every percentage point of efficiency multiplies usable data.
Low dark count rate
Dark counts directly raise accidental coincidences and degrade g⁽²⁾, visibility, and signal-to-noise.
Low timing jitter
Tight coincidence windows suppress background and enable interferometric experiments such as HOM.
Field- and lab-friendly operation
Compact, low-power, cryogen-free packaging keeps quantum-sensing experiments out of cryostat-centric infrastructure.
Multi-channel & array scalability
Multi-pixel readout enables spatially resolved quantum imaging and parallel coincidence channels.
Broad NIR/SWIR coverage
Coverage from ~900 nm through the telecom O- and C-bands matches the relevant photon-pair sources and quantum emitters.
GeQD's contribution
A germanium-on-silicon SPAD platform as a pathway toward scalable SWIR single-photon detection for quantum-sensing experiments.
GeQD is developing a Ge-on-Si SPAD platform aimed at giving quantum-sensing applications a semiconductor-scalable SWIR detector format — initially as a fiber-coupled multi-channel lab module, and over time as an array for spatially resolved quantum imaging Target · model-based .
Note: Quantum-sensing suitability is a future application pathway. Performance figures for detection efficiency, dark count rate, and jitter are currently being characterised.
Discuss quantum-sensing detector requirements with GeQD.
We engage with quantum-optics groups, research institutes, and system integrators on detector specifications for quantum-sensing and quantum-imaging experiments.
Universität Stuttgart – Institut für Halbleitertechnik
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Pfaffenwaldring 47
70569 Stuttgart, Deutschland
Tel: +49 711 68560896
info@geqd.de
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