Photon-Counting Camera Seen as Enabler to Quantum Computing
New camera can detect single photons of light at record speeds
Key points…
+ The world’s first megapixel photon-counting camera and a first-of-its-kind image sensor technology are capable of detecting single photons of light at record speeds.
“In a somewhat more distant future, quantum communication, sensing and computing could all benefit from photon-counting cameras with multi-megapixel resolution.”
– AQUALab researcher Kazuhiro Morimoto –
+ The camera’s breakthrough technology is powered by single-photon avalanche diodes, or SPADs. In addition to shrinking the SPAD pixels to record size, engineers also succeeded in reducing the amount of power that each pixel uses. As a result of the unprecedented technology upgrades, the camera can achieve record speeds — acquiring images at up to 24,000 frames per second — while maintaining impressive timing precision and energy efficiency.
+ SPADs work by detecting single photons and converting them into electrical signals. The sensors are used in smartphones and other household devices. For the latest research, scientists were able to construct an array of extremely small SPADs.
+ Each SPAD sensor found in the new camera can open and close at record speeds, allowing light in for just 3.8 nanoseconds, roughly four billionth of a second.
Source: UPI. Brook Hays, New camera can detect single photons of light at record speeds…
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