Abstract:
Microwave systems are a central part of modern technology, with major applications including wireless communication and radar. In recent years, microwave circuits and systems have also become leading platforms in the development of quantum computing, sensing, and communication systems. For instance, the quantum processors being developed by large companies such as IBM and Google are superconducting microwave circuits which are controlled and readout by microwave photons. Nonclassical states of light, at both optical and microwave frequencies, are also being developed and applied for next-generation communication and sensing applications. These important applications and others have driven great interest in developing sources of nonclassical microwaves. Here we present a series of experiments that take important steps towards developing practical quantum sources in the microwave regime and applying them to real-world applications. In the first experiment, we use a superconducting parametric cavity to produce tripartite entangled states of propagating microwave light. The technique developed can be easily extended to more modes. In the second experiment, we demonstrate a single-microwave-photon source that allows the photon wave packet to be shaped to optimally match the requirements of a quantum receiver. This experiment used a novel approach: we were able shape the photons by modulating quantum vacuum fluctuations in both space and time. We conclude with a proof-of-principle demonstration of using quantum microwaves to enhance the sensitive of radar systems, using a protocol we call quantum-enhanced noise radar.
Biography of speaker:
Christopher
Wilson
received
his
B.S.
in
Physics
from
MIT
in
1996.
There
he
performed
undergraduate
research
on
the
role
of
nonlinear
dynamics
in
the
nervous
system
using
analog
circuit
simulators.
He
received
his
Ph.D.
in
Physics
from
Yale
University
in
2002.
His
dissertation
focused
on
the
development
of
single-photon
optical
spectrometers
using
superconducting
tunnel
junctions.
He
then
worked
at
Yale
as
the
W.M.
Keck
postdoctoral
fellow
where
he
started
work
on
quantum
computation
and
information
processing
using
superconducting
single-electronics.
In
2004,
he
moved
to
Chalmers
University
of
Technology
in
Sweden,
later
becoming
an
Assistant
Professor
in
2007
and
an
Associate
Professor
in
2011.
In
2011/2012,
he
spent
a
sabbatical
year
working
at
a
biomedical
startup
company
in
Pasadena,
where
he
worked
on
signal
processing
and
machine
learning
for
medical
diagnostics.
In
2012,
Wilson
joined
the
University
of
Waterloo
where
he
was
appointed
to
the
Department
of
Electrical
and
Computer
Engineering
as
an
Associate
Professor,
and
cross-appointed
to
the
Department
of
Physics
and
Astronomy.
He
also
has
an
affiliation
with
the
Institute
for
Quantum
Computing.
His
research
focuses
on
applications
of
superconducting
quantum
electronics
to
quantum
information,
computing
and
sensing
and
the
foundations
of
quantum
mechanics.
His
work
has
been
recognized
internationally,
receiving
the
2012
Wallmark
prize
from
the
Royal
Swedish
Academy
and
being
named
one
of
the
top
5
breakthroughs
of
2011
by
Physics
World
magazine.