Tyndall National Institute, based at University College Cork, welcomes a cutting-edge quantum light source as part of QuanTour, a groundbreaking European science outreach project.
This unique project, which is in anticipation of the UNESCO International Year of Quantum Science and Technology 2025, aims to inspire the public and shed light on the future of quantum communication.
The QuanTour initiative will see the specially built quantum light source travel to 12 leading research laboratories across Europe, highlighting the groundbreaking research in quantum physics. Tyndall will serve as the Irish host, joining institutions from Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, France, England, Scotland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, and Poland.
Revolutionise fields such as data security
Tyndall (and its QCEC centre for quantum computer engineering) is at the forefront of quantum research, working on cutting-edge projects in quantum communication, quantum computing, and quantum sensing. These new technologies have the potential to revolutionise fields such as data security, computing power, and precise measurement techniques.
Tyndall’s participation in this international project highlights its strong position in the global scientific community, supporting its reputation as a key player in quantum technologies. One way to address these challenges is to utilise semiconductor quantum dots to create individual particles of light, known as photons, together with other exotic states of light, such as entangled photons.
The QuanTour project illustrates the critical role quantum communication will play in securing future global data networks. Today’s fibre-optic communications, which connect cities and countries, rely on traditional data transmission methods. However, the future lies in quantum communication, which uses photons, to transmit information securely, based on the principles of quantum physics.
The QuanTour project also underlines the relevance of exploiting single photonic technologies for achieving computational advantage with quantum computers over traditional computation with classical chips. A high intensity source of identical photons is key to achieve that.
Dr Emanuele Pelucchi, head of epitaxy and physics of nanostructures at Tyndall, said: "I am proud of being part of this initiative, which also importantly and playfully symbolically marks 100 years of 'quantum'.
"QuanTour highlights the relevance that quantum technologies bear to our future, and 100 years of endeavours and successes. At Tyndall we are doing our part developing unique site-controlled photon sources which are relevantly contributing to the challenges quantum technologies present."
QuanTour is a project of the German Physical Society (DPG), organised by Dr Doris Reiter (TU Dortmund University, and Dr Tobias Heindel (TU Berlin University).