2014/10/15 by Shabir Barzanjeh, Saikat Guha, Christian Weedbrook +3 · 1 voice
Computer Science · Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Computer science #Mechanical and Optical Resonators #Microwave #Optics #Optoelectronics #Photonic and Optical Devices #Physics #Quantum #Quantum Information and Cryptography #Quantum imaging #Quantum information #Quantum mechanics #Quantum network #Quantum sensor #SIGNAL (programming language) #cond-mat.other #physics.ins-det #physics.optics #quant-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.114.080503
published as Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 080503 (2015) · In press on Physical Review Letters. Long version of the manuscript, including both the Letter and the Supplemental Material (15 pages total)
arxiv published 2014/10/15 · arxiv created 2015/02/16 · openalex publication_date 2015/02/27 · arxiv updated 2015/03/04 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
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.