Our comprehension of the world significantly depends on our grasp of its constituent materials and how they interact. Recent progress in materials science has dramatically improved our capability to detect chemical substances and broadened the range of potential uses.
One such technology is infrared spectroscopy, used for molecular identification in various fields, such as in medicine, environmental monitoring, and industrial production. However, even the best existing tool — the Fourier transform infrared spectrometer or FTIR — utilizes a heating element as its light source. Resulting detector noise in the infrared region limits the devices’ sensitivity, while physical properties hinder miniaturization.
Now, a research team led by Kyoto University has addressed this problem by incorporating a quantum light source. Their innovative ultra-broadband, quantum-entangled source generates a relatively wider range of infrared photons with wavelengths between 2 μm and 5 μm.
“This achievement sets the stage for dramatically downsizing the system and upgrading infrared spectrometer sensitivity,” says Shigeki Takeuchi of the Department of Electronic Science and Engineering.
Another elephant in the room with FTIRs is the burden of transporting mammoth-sized, power-hungry equipment to various locations for testing materials on-site. Takeuchi eyes a future where his team’s compact, high-performance, battery-operated scanners will lead to easy-to-use applications in various fields such as environmental monitoring, medicine, and security.
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