nir-vana innovation network

Squeezed light is a unique type of light used in technologies like quantum sensing and quantum computing. Measurements in optical sensing are often limited by shot noise. One can experience a similar situation while listening to music in an aeroplane: The joy of listening to music is disturbed by the noise of the turbines, not all the nuances of a song can be heard. The signal-to-noise ratio is not sufficient. Of course, the volume can be turned up to improve the signal-to-noise ratio. Equivalently, the laser power can be increased in an optical measurement. This requires additional effort and leads to new problems and technical limits: It's expensive, potentially damaging to delicate equipment, and can require complex safety measures. This is why for many applications and testing environments, noise reduction is needed. With the innovative laser technology offered by the company, noise reduction of up to a factor of 10 can be achieved. This results in an improved signal-to-noise ratio without the need for increasing the laser power. It is comparable to using noise cancelling headphones: You keep the pleasant volume while reducing unwanted noise. Just as squeezed light is the resource to enhance optical sensing, it is required for some optical quantum computing protocols and constitutes a resource to realise this quantum technology. Based on more than twenty years of research, the spin-off of the university of Hamburg, developed a portable laser to produce squeezed light with excellent optical characteristics. The product is market ready and is already trusted by major research institutions in the field of quantum optics. The company offers hardware, software to control the system, as well as installation and advisory services. The hardware to produce squeezed light has been developed and optimised as a modular system that fits well on an optical laboratory table (approximately 60 x 40 cm). The squeeze laser has a well-defined spatial TEM00 mode. That allows for easy integration into optical setups and experiments. The squeeze laser includes a touchscreen to control the system intuitively or switch between different modes of operation, e.g. the alignment mode that emits a bright beam that is visible on a viewer card and the squeezing mode, in which the light is too faint to be seen. The interface also provides options to fine-tune operational settings (e.g. temperature of laser crystals). In addition, the company offers Homodyne detectors, which are generally advantageous for advanced sensing applications and can be used both together with the laser hardware and independently from it.