Heidelberg 2015 – scientific programme
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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik
Q 48: Optomechanics I
Q 48.6: Talk
Thursday, March 26, 2015, 12:15–12:30, P/H1
Microwave Quantum Illumination — •Shabir Barzanjeh1, Jeffrey Shapiro2, and Stefano Pirandola3 — 1Institute for Quantum Information, RWTH Aachen University, 52056 Aachen, Germany — 2Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA — 3Department of Computer Science, University of York, York YO10 5GH, United Kingdom
Quantum illumination is a quantum-optical sensing technique in which an entangled source is exploited to improve the detection of a low-reflectivity object that is immersed in a bright thermal background. Here we describe and analyze a system for applying this technique at microwave frequencies, a more appropriate spectral region for target detection than the optical, due to the naturally-occurring bright thermal background in the microwave regime. We use an electro-optomechanical converter to entangle microwave signal and optical idler fields, with the former being sent to probe the target region and the latter being retained at the source. The microwave radiation collected from the target region is then phase conjugated and upconverted into an optical field that is combined with the retained idler in a joint-detection quantum measurement. The error probability of this microwave quantum-illumination system, or 'quantum radar', is shown to be superior to that of any classical microwave radar of equal transmitted energy.