Quantum-entangled SPectrometer using Infra-Red Interference Technology: Q-SPIRIT

Physical Science Inc. and the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign will develop the Quantum-entangled SPectrometer using Infra-Red Interference Technology (Q SPIRIT) platform, which aims to realize a low size, weight, and power (SWaP) spectroscopy unit for detecting infrared-wavelength gas-absorption spectra by leveraging novel quantum entanglement and interference techniques without the need for high-power lasers or cool infrared detectors. Infrared (IR) spectroscopy is a critical technique for many NASA missions that require the detection and analysis of chemical compounds and molecules, in addition to many applications in astronomy, medicine, and other fields. However, gas spectroscopy in the IR requires detectors that currently suffer from high background noise and low sensitivity. To increase the signal-to-noise ratio, these detectors are either cryogenically cooled (increasing the system SWaP and cost) or paired with high-power light sources (which suffer from narrow bandwidths, in addition to being high SWaP). Such high-SWaP solutions cannot be easily added to space-based assets (such as landers) without consuming significant supporting resources. In contrast, high-sensitivity visible-wavelength detectors are cost-effective, widely available, and do not require cryogenic cooling; yet, they are insensitive to IR light. To address this challenge, PSI and UIUC are leveraging a quantum-enhanced spectroscopic technique, known as “ghost spectroscopy”, which combines highly non-degenerate entangled-pairs configured to probe a gas sample using the IR photons while only detecting visible photons. This unique approach avoids cryogenically-cooled IR detectors or high-power IR sources to realize a reduced SWaP spectrometer for portable sensors compatible with deployment in NASA missions.