G&H steps up to the Quantum Technologies Challenge

Earlier in 2020, the Government pledged £70M of funding to support the development of quantum technology and the practical applications for the emerging science. Within this wider initiative is a dedicated £10M quantum photonics project, QTAssemble, that brings together 14 partners from the UK, led by the Fraunhofer Centre for Applied Photonics.

Specifically within QTAssemble, G&H will focus on designing and developing important building blocks of quantum laser engines, building on decades of experience and a proven track record in photonics innovation in acousto-optics, fiber optics and precision optics. G&H will work on a new generation of fiber-coupled acousto-optic and waveguide devices, demonstrate miniaturization by hybrid integration of optics and electronics and will also work on new acousto-optic cell architectures that would enable world record functional performance. G&H will utilise its expertise to integrate multiple photonic devices and electronics into small compact packages.

The project will investigate the use of atomic particles to improve the reliability of laser systems and reduce the SWaP-C (size, weight, power and cost) of components, which is vital if quantum systems are to be used in real-world situations. As the technology matures, quantum laser systems will be used as the “power source” in telecommunications, industrial and biomedical sectors. It is expected to significantly advance computing power that would in turn transform the financial and defense sectors as well as meteorological forecasting.

According to G&H Group CTO Stratos Kehayas:

“Quantum technologies will revolutionise telecommunications through quantum key distribution and will enable unprecedented sensitivity in next-generation quantum sensors, cross-fertilising diverse applications, from brain imaging to ultra-high precision global navigation satellite systems. Photonics, as an enabling technology silently working in the background, is expected to underpin the quantum revolution; the road to achieve this goes through more functionality, higher photonic integration levels and electronics/optics co-packaging.

"As an industry leader in photonics, over the next few years our R&D team will concentrate on developing a new quantum component family that not only ticks the boxes from a functional performance perspective, but can also be manufactured reliably, cost-effectively and in volumes and hence move from the lab into the field. Our G&H mission states that ‘we are changing the world with photonics’. That’s exactly what we aim to do in the future world of quantum and this project will help us put those first important stakes in the ground.”

G&H has a proven track record in innovating with 48 new products, 5 patents granted and £13.5 million revenue generated from new products during the last fiscal year. The Group has led and participated in previous R&D projects on quantum technologies. The REVEAL project (Quantum Gravity Sensor for Civil Engineering) focused on the development of a quantum gravity sensor based on a cold atom interferometry for underground surveying in civil engineering and the CASPA project (Cold Atom Space Payload) focused on developing a CubeSat compatible payload capable of producing cold atoms in space.

G&H is also a market leader in the supply of high performance acousto-optic deflectors and fiber-coupled acousto-optic modulators based on our award-winning Fiber-Q® technology in the ultraviolet, visible and infrared for magneto-optical trapping, power stabilisation, optical tweezers and frequency doubling in quantum sensing and computing.