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Quantum Camera On a Silicon Chip

Posted by timothy on from the tech-mad-libs-or-buzzword-bingo dept.

stefanparvu14 writes "Physicists in Switzerland and California have developed a new type of camera capable of imaging quantum correlations between pairs of photons. The details are presented in the current issue of the open-access publication New Journal of Physics. Unlike a conventional camera with a CCD imager, this camera is composed of Single Photon Avalanche Diode (SPAD) pixels implemented on a high-performance CMOS chip. One of the authors has provided more background for the non-physicist. Apparently, it could be used to verify the existence of Bose-Einstein condensates that are now starting to be produced in new ways."

42 comments

  1. No picture with the aricle ... by tomhudson · · Score: 3, Informative

    Because sometimes the camera is there ... and sometimes it isn't.

    1. Re:No picture with the aricle ... by DigiShaman · · Score: 1, Funny

      Should have been called the CAT (Cant Always Tell).

      --
      Life is not for the lazy.
    2. Re:No picture with the aricle ... by ScrewMaster · · Score: 1, Funny

      Should have been called the CAT (Cant Always Tell).

      Yeah ... I bet it runs Linux with a Maxwell Daemon to process the data in the background.

      --
      The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
    3. Re:No picture with the aricle ... by gadget+junkie · · Score: 1

      Because sometimes the camera is there ... and sometimes it isn't.

      I beg to disagree with that. The real problem is , if you can find where's the camera, you cannot find where's the image.

      --
      "If a boss demands loyalty, give him integrity. But if he demands integrity, give him loyalty." (John Boyd, 1927-1997)
    4. Re:No picture with the aricle ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because, if you think you know how to use this camera, you don't.

  2. The first link... by MichaelSmith · · Score: 2, Informative

    ...to this page while interesting on its own, doesn't appear relevant to the article.

    --
    http://michaelsmith.id.au
    1. Re:The first link... by alfrin · · Score: 3, Informative

      ...to this page while interesting on its own, doesn't appear relevant to the article.

      Notice the URL. Notice who posted the article.

    2. Re:The first link... by MichaelSmith · · Score: 1

      ...to this page while interesting on its own, doesn't appear relevant to the article.

      Notice the URL. Notice who posted the article.

      I know it is a page from the poster. But the page content doesn't match the link text.

      --
      http://michaelsmith.id.au
    3. Re:The first link... by alfrin · · Score: 2, Informative

      ...to this page while interesting on its own, doesn't appear relevant to the article.

      Notice the URL. Notice who posted the article.

      I know it is a page from the poster. But the page content doesn't match the link text.

      Exactly. It seems to me it was a quick throw in to get traffic to his site. A link obviously unchecked in the editing process.

    4. Re:The first link... by Arthur+Grumbine · · Score: 2, Funny

      Well, it was relevant before you looked at...

      --
      Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure everything I just said is completely wrong.
    5. Re:The first link... by alexj33 · · Score: 1

      This is a quantum first post.

      However, the act of you looking for it at the top of this thread changed its state, and now it is here.

  3. It's enivitable by Skyppey · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    First penis joke gets a quark!

    1. Re:It's enivitable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Finally! a camera that can actually see the parent's penis!

      What kind of sick puppy are you talking about your parent's penis?

  4. This technology is going to revolutionize... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    ...the cat calendar industry.

  5. Unless I missunderstand the scale... by Codex_of_Wisdom · · Score: 1

    Doesn't this run into the small problem of:
    "observing a quantum event changes that event"?

    1. Re:Unless I missunderstand the scale... by ceoyoyo · · Score: 4, Informative

      You're already observing the photons and yes, it sure does change them. They're absorbed.

      The difference here is that instead of just noting that "oh, yup, a photon was absorbed," you detect whether or not a pair of photons was absorbed at the same time.

    2. Re:Unless I missunderstand the scale... by deathy_epl+ccs · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Doesn't this run into the small problem of:

      "observing a quantum event changes that event"?

      Yeah, but see, that's what's so great about it! Now we'll be able to fuck everything up at a quantum level too!

    3. Re:Unless I missunderstand the scale... by HTH+NE1 · · Score: 1

      observing a quantum event changes that event

      Yes, so you can't use this to look up quantum skirts.

      --
      Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
  6. Bose-eisens-who-what?? by gravos · · Score: 4, Informative

    A Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) is a state of matter of bosons confined in an external potential and cooled to temperatures very near to absolute zero. Bosons are just elementary particles which obey Bose-Einstein statistics. Bose-Einstein statistics determine the statistical distribution of identical, indistinguishable bosons over the energy states in thermal equilibrium.

    Confused yet? Me too.

    --
    This game will waste your life. Don't clicky!
    1. Re:Bose-eisens-who-what?? by bh_doc · · Score: 4, Interesting

      A single particle in a confinement, with all the thermal energy removed, is distributed like a wave. That is, you're more likely to find the particle in the middle than at the edges. There's a formula for it (square of a sin, IIRC).

      Bosons can all exist in the same state in the same place.

      Couple these two facts, and you have a BEC. Basically, put a bunch of bosons in a box, turn the temperature way (way way) down, and you get this neat fuzzy blob of stuff, each particle in (or near) the "ground" (lowest energy) state, denser in the middle than at the edges, that's neither gas nor liquid nor solid. (Nor plasma, for the pedantic.)

    2. Re:Bose-eisens-who-what?? by dotancohen · · Score: 1

      A Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) is a state of matter of bosons confined in an external potential and cooled to temperatures very near to absolute zero.

      What?!? I got all wet thinking about what kind of headphones might carry Einstein's name and you go ruin it with techno-speak!

      --
      It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
    3. Re:Bose-eisens-who-what?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      square of a sin

      I believe that's known as "an atrocity."

  7. A step ahead by Superdarion · · Score: 1

    So what is this? Like 10,000 mpx?

  8. any condensed matter folks here? by mako1138 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The abstract mentions "confirming the presence of true Bose-Einstein macroscopic coherence (BEC) of cavity exciton polaritons." Can somebody elucidate?

    1. Re:any condensed matter folks here? by ColdWetDog · · Score: 1, Interesting

      The abstract mentions "confirming the presence of true Bose-Einstein macroscopic coherence (BEC) of cavity exciton polaritons." Can somebody elucidate?

      If you have to ask, nobody can answer it for you.

      Quantum mechanics is like that sometimes.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    2. Re:any condensed matter folks here? by Robin47 · · Score: 2, Funny

      >Quantum mechanics is like that sometimes. Or maybe it isn't...

  9. I hear the engineer turned down his paycheck by RevWaldo · · Score: 2, Funny

    ..for a envelope full of trinkets.

    --
    Prisencolinensinainciusol. Ol Rait!
  10. Who cares? by S-100 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Who cares? Nothing made by Bose is any good anyway.

  11. X10 Tie-in by Hordeking · · Score: 1

    Would someone let me know when this product is available in the form of an X10 camera that will NEVER catch any naked girls in my house, spy on evil relatives, and see who dropped that toilet-clogger at my last party.

    Original Reference

    Interview with X10 Creator

    --
    Disclaimer: The opinions and actions of the US Gov't are in no way representative of those held by this author or its ci
  12. lhc? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Apparently, it could be used to verify the existence of Bose-Einstein condensates

    yeah, i mean, who needs lhc? a freakin' camera should be enough!

    only problem, you'll get a photo 50% of the times.

  13. The word "quantum" by anonymShit · · Score: 1

    Could people please let the word "quantum" be? If I post a comment "scientists discover that god is quantum!", will it be posted and commented? Please, let's be serious on science and post/comment things based on their relevance. Another bullshit title, just for laugh: "scientists discover that black holes have hair!" http://arxiv.org/abs/0901.0359 (notice the title of the paper:"Black hole hair removal")

    1. Re:The word "quantum" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't try to fight it. Quantum is the new Sonic.

  14. Same with a multianode microchannel plate? by bundaegi · · Score: 1
    Nice one! Jitter looks a bit high at 80ps but other than that, interesting concept.

    SPAD afterpulsing is probably not an issue for this project because it's looking at photon pairs, so uncorrelated random events occurring on all the SPADs won't affect the detection... but will decrease the counting/processing rate by bogging down the electronics.

    For measuring concurrent events, I would've thought TTS would be much more critical, and you can't get much better than MCP-PMTs (10-20ps these days?). Just wondering if the same detection could've been done with a multi-anode MCP, although if the sensor is CMOS tech, APDs would probably be easier to incorporate onto an ASIC / SoC.

    --
    bundaegi is good for you
  15. Schrodinger...??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The thing I want to know is, if I take a picture of a cat with this camera, will it disappear??

    1. Re:Schrodinger...??? by gadget+junkie · · Score: 1

      The thing I want to know is, if I take a picture of a cat with this camera, will it disappear??

      I thought it would die!!!!!!

      --
      "If a boss demands loyalty, give him integrity. But if he demands integrity, give him loyalty." (John Boyd, 1927-1997)
    2. Re:Schrodinger...??? by YourExperiment · · Score: 1

      Meh... it could go either way.

  16. Does this mean by Hardtrance · · Score: 1

    we finally get our Heisenberg compensator?

    --
    This post is LAW where prohibited by VOID. Prosecutors will be violated.
  17. Sure, it's tiny by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    But would it make a click sound when you take a photo?

  18. Does it have to click every image? by tigerbody1 · · Score: 1

    Well, that is soon to be the law - and I would hope that it would apply to ever camera including this one and the ones on the Hubble.