Photon Detector Reads In Four States With An Error Rate Four Times Lower Than Previous Devices

Researchers at the The Joint Quantum Institute (JQI) established a new standard for reading quantum information in detecting photons with a minimum of uncertainty. By using a network of photon detectors with feedback instead of a single passive detector, the JQI photodetector beats the quantum limit by a factor of 4.

They reported their findings in the journal, Nature Photonics.

PHOTONS

A photon is a single particle of light. It is an elementary particle that exhibits both particle and wave properties; wave–particle duality. The study of photons usually falls under but not limited to quantum mechanics.

Photons have many real world applications. Solar energy cells use photons to convert sunlight to energy. Some systems like the Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) use it to generate images. The mass of photons was one of the factors that lead researchers at CERN in the Large Hadron Collider to help discover the Higgs Particle. Even in science fiction, the photon torpedo or photon gun is part of a spaceship's arsenal.

It is even being studied as a data carrier in quantum computer processors.

PHOTON DETECTORS

The most basic device used in studying photons is the photon detector. It is used to count how many photon particles there are in a beam of light. A photon detector has some surface that absorbs photons and produces some effect (current, voltage) proportional to the number of photons absorbed.

But as with most detectors, there will be "noise" or factors that affect its reading of the data. Especially in quantum mechanics where some fundamental principles are still unclear (like wave-particle duality).