Researchers at AIST have succeeded in directly observing magnetic flux quanta generated in a superconductor by photon absorption and have demonstrated a new principle of photon detection that identifies the number of photons based on the number of these flux quanta.
Detecting individual photons is a key technology for photon quantum computers and quantum communication, and several methods have been proposed. While some of these methods are already in practical use for research purposes, their integration into industrial applications has just begun. In this study, a new approach to photon detection simultaneously combines both important capabilities, the high photon-number-resolving capability, which is difficult to achieve with the above-mentioned conventional technologies, and the capability to operate at high speed, which is desirable for industrial applications.
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