Researchers are developing a new military-grade “quantum laser” that can cut through fog and operate over long distances.
The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded a $1 million grant to scientists building a prototype “photonic-dimer quantum laser” that uses quantum entanglement to “glue” light particles together and generated a highly focused laser beam.
Lasers play a crucial role in military operations and are used in everything from satellite communications and targeting technology to mapping and tracking systems such as lidar (light detection and alignment).
Conventional laser they work by stimulating the electrons in atoms to oscillate in unison. When these electrons move from a high-energy state to a low-energy state, they emit a form of light called “coherent light”—light of uniform wavelength and phase. As this light bounces between mirrors inside the laser device, it is refined into a focused laser beam.
But by using entangled photons, the photonic-dimer quantum laser can maintain precision and strength over greater distances and under adverse conditions, scientists said in a statement. Therefore, quantum lasers can provide better performance for military applications such as surveillance and secure communications in harsh environments.
“Photons encode information as they travel, but traveling through the atmosphere is very damaging for them,” the project leader. Jung-Tsung Shen, associate professor of electrical and systems engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. “When two photons are bound together, they still suffer from the effects of the atmosphere, but they can shield each other so that some phase information can still be preserved.”
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The two-color photonic dimer laser works by connecting pairs of photons—fundamental particles that represent the smallest building blocks of electromagnetic radiation—through a process called quantum entanglement.
Quantum entanglement is a strange and complex phenomenon in the field of Quantum mechanics which occurs when two or more the particles become interconnected in such a way that one particle immediately affects the state of the other – regardless of the distance between them.
When two photons are bound together through quantum entanglement, they create what are known as photonic dimers, the researchers said. These pairs of photons are easier to manipulate because they act as a single entity, with any change applied to one photon directly affecting the other.
This binding of light particles increases the energy and durability of the laser, making it better at performing over long distances and in adverse conditions such as extreme temperatures and fog.
Previous work by Shen and his team, published in December 2020, explored how photonic-dimer quantum laser technology can be used to improve deep brain imaging. In that study, they used photonic dimers to map intricate neural structures.
Technology can also play a role quantum computing and telecommunications, the researchers said, possibly leading to faster and more secure ways of transmitting data.
“We’re trying to exploit the property of entanglement to do something innovative. Entanglement can do a lot of things that we can only dream of – this is just the tip of the iceberg,” Shen said.
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