FLAME – Frequency-stabilised LAser Modules with integrated reference Cell
It is difficult to overestimate the impact of electronic computers on modern society – and yet, just a few decades ago, computer technology was limited to the research laboratory by their enormous complexity, power requirement, and cost. The uptake of such technology by wider, non-specialist society has gone hand in hand with improvements in size, cost and performance of the subsystems upon which computers depend. Quantum technology finds itself at a similar junction. These systems are now a reality and hold enormous potential to revolutionise our lives, but they are only found in a few research laboratories because they depend upon very expensive, very large and very fragile laser systems and electronics. In this project, we will reduce the size and cost of these critical components enormously, without losing performance, in order to place the UK at the vanguard of QT development and commercialisation.
Fraunhofer CAP collaborated in this project with:
ALTER TECHNOLOGY TUV NORD UK LIMITED
TMD TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED
PICAS2: Photonically Integrated Cold-Atom Source and System
ColdQuanta, Optocap, and Fraunhofer CAP will develop a commercially-available complete high-flux cold atom source system with uniquely low size and cost. The high flux cold atom source is a complex and critical element of cold matter systems used in a variety of applications such as gravity surveying, atomic clocks, magnetic and electric sensors, navigation, and quantum information systems. The lack of a commercial complete source system at a moderate size and price point is a fundamental barrier to the expansion of atomic quantum technology into deployed applications. The small size and low cost of our approach turns the entire source system into a module that can be easily added to, or removed from, a more complex system in a modular manner. This simplifies research and development, aids in system integration, and eases maintenance.
Fraunhofer CAP collaborated in this project with:
COLDQUANTA UK LIMITED
ALTER TECHNOLOGY TUV NORD UK LIMITED
STREAMLINE
"Quantum Technologies are set to transform the technology landscape and change the way we fundamentally navigate, compute, communicate and secure vast quantities of data that is the backbone of modern society. However, the technologies at the heart of this potential revolution are currently, largely shackled to sophisticated laboratories.
The Streamline project will build on highly-successful work from this consortium and will develop a reliable commercial solution for the cooling of strontium ions by addressing the challenges associated with the handling and packaging of novel GaN semiconductor materials. This demonstration represents a key step in meeting the demands of important systems covering the whole GaN-enabled spectrum (365-550nm)."
Fraunhofer CAP collaborated in this project with:
ALTER TECHNOLOGY TUV NORD UK LIMITED
TOPGAN QUANTUM TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED
TuNaFISH
"Quantum technologies are set to transform the way we measure the world around us, how we navigate and communicate, and how we process vast amounts of data. At the core of many quantum technology systems currently trapped in laboratories around the world are lasers with extremely stringent requirements on their wavelength, stability and linewidth. Current commercially available lasers are bulky, expensive and struggle to meet these requirements without significant development effort from the user.
To address these challenges, the TuNaFISH project will develop a versatile, compact, narrow-linewidth laser module capable of meeting the requirements for any laser that will be used in a commercial atom interferometer. In this project the consortium will combine advanced spectroscopy and laser locking schemes with mature packaging capability. This innovative approach will allow us to produce a laser module that is small (approximately 60x40x20 mm) and simple to use by system integrators intending to commercialise quantum technologies based on cold atom interferometry, while providing highly tuneable narrow-linewidth laser light without the need for any bulky third party hardware."
Fraunhofer CAP collaborated in this project with:
ALTER TECHNOLOGY TUV NORD UK LIMITED
Pioneer Gravity:
Gravity sensors for infrastructure productivity, situational awareness and seeing the invisible """Despite our increasing ability to detect and monitor objects that exist on land, sea, around buildings or in space, our ability to detect objects beneath the ground has not improved significantly. When it comes to attempting to locate a buried and forgotten pipe, telling the extent of a sink hole or assessing the quality of infrastructure we still often resort to digging or drilling holes. This presents a huge economic and societal cost as road networks are dug up, oil wells are dry or brown-field land is left undeveloped. Existing techniques are all fundamentally limited in either their sensitivity (classical microgravity), their penetration (Ground Penetrating Radar) or their cost (seismic).
For over 30 years, universities and academics have been exploiting the strange effects of quantum superposition to measure gravity with astonishing sensitivity. Using a process called cold-atom interferometry, the wave-partial duality of a rubidium atom is compared to the phase of a laser beam in a way which can detect very small changes in the way atoms fall freely in a vacuum. Changes in this free-fall can be used to determine the local strength of gravity and if this measurement is sensitive enough, the measurement can be used to tell whether there are voids, pipes, tunnels, oil and gas reserves in the ground beneath your feet.
Although the potential is there, there are huge scientific and engineering challenges to delivering this performance.
This project is proposed by the UK consortium of the best scientific and engineering companies the UK has to offer. Working with leading UK universities, these companies are looking to overcome these challenges, and develop a new industry of 'quantum' cold-atom sensors in the UK. If these advanced performances can be demonstrated, the economic and societal benefit of this new 'quantum' industry in the UK is expected to be significant and long-lasting."""
Fraunhofer CAP collaborated in this project with:
RSK ENVIRONMENT LIMITED
ALTER TECHNOLOGY TUV NORD UK LIMITED
ALTRAN UK LIMITED
GEOMATRIX EARTH SCIENCE LIMITED
MAGNETIC SHIELDS LIMITED
QINETIQ LIMITED
SILICON MICROGRAVITY LIMITED
Teledyne UK Limited
UNIKLASERS LTD.
UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON
High-BIAS2: High-Bandwidth Inertial Atom Source & Sensor
"Navigation using space-based satellite signals underlies many critical technologies across the UK. Most advanced navigation technologies rely on the signals from networks known as the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) to remain accurate over long distances. Loss of these signals result in an unstable navigation systems and increasingly less accurate location and direction estimation during operation.
GNSS signals may be lost accidentally from criminal activity or due to military action. For example, in 2018 several passenger flights off the Norwegian coast lost GNSS signals due to signal 'jamming' from military exercises. In addition, 'Spoofing' or deliberately transmitting false guidance signals has been demonstrated as an insidious cyberweapon that can deliberately mislead and fool cargo or passenger vessels. As systems are increasingly automated, the consequences of the loss of GNSS signals dramatically increase and may include loss of property, or in the extreme case, loss of life. Local on-board instruments can provide measurements to stabilise current navigation system technology without GNSS signals. Quantum technology-based sensors have the potential to provide stability to navigation systems over long periods of time due to the unique combination of high sensitivity to motion with superb isolation from changes in the surrounding environment. High-BIAS2 will demonstrate the ability of a quantum rotation sensor's ability to stabilise the orientation of aircraft guidance system in the absence of GNSS signals. Local stabilisation using quantum technology will decrease the reliance of navigation systems on GNSS and provides a measure of protection against signal loss, jamming, and spoofing to increase safety and security."
Fraunhofer CAP collaborated in this project with:
COLDQUANTA UK LIMITED
ALTER TECHNOLOGY TUV NORD UK LIMITED
BAE SYSTEMS PLC
CALEDONIAN PHOTONICS LIMITED
PA CONSULTING SERVICES LIMITED
REDWAVE LABS LTD
Centre for Applied Photonics