HyperQuIm: Hyperspectral Quantum Imaging with Undetected Photons

Project funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P. (FCT) (Concurso para Projetos de Investigação de caráter Exploratório em Todos os Domínios Científicos 2024), grant 2024.17596.PEX. Funded amount: EUR 59,144.70, as stated by the source. Runs 2026-01-01 to 2027-06-30. Keywords: Hyperspectral imaging, Quantum Imaging, Optical systems, Wavefront shaping, Engineering and technology. Source: OpenAIRE Graph, from the funder's project data (collected by OpenAIRE on 2025-12-24); national funding data, not CORDIS. Abstract given by the source: HyperQuIm aims to be a pioneering step in Portuguese-driven quantum imaging technologies, offering a high-risk, high-reward approach to hyperspectral imaging using quantum principles. We will leverage Imaging with Undetected Photons (IUP) to probe infrared (IR) samples by imaging their visible counterparts through nonlinear interferometry and spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) inside nonlinear crystals(Lemos2014;Pearce2023). While IUP is not entirely new, existing setups are bulky and face challenges such as mode matching, optical alignment, and wavelength control. This project seeks to push beyond the state of the art by integrating wavefront shaping and adaptive optics, creating a scalable, compact, and cost-effective imaging platform capable of functioning outside laboratory conditions. On the technological front, our close collaboration with spectral imaging experts will enable the first real-world application of IUP for sample classification, supported by advanced machine and deep learning tools. In recent years, hyperspectral imaging has rapidly expanded, finding applications across scientific and industrial fields, from medicine to recycling and raw materials(Bhargava2024). A key driver of this growth is the ability to access information in the infrared (IR) spectral region (near-IR, shortwave-IR (SWIR), and mid-IR), which reveals crucial absorbance signatures linked to molecular vibrations(Hashimoto2019). This otherwise invisible data has enabled a wide range of sensing applications, including agriculture, food quality control, pharmaceutical monitoring, and biological imaging(Al Ktash2021;Martins2022). However, entering the IR domain is costly, particularly in the SWIR and mid-IR ranges, where cameras are prohibitively expensive, have low resolution, and suffer from poor signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) without advanced cooling systems(Pearce2023). Recently, leveraging multiple advances in quantum technologies and nonlinear optics, the concept of [shortened; the full text is on the OpenAIRE page]

Original source.

Source: OpenAIRE Graph: projects of national funders, OpenAIRE, from the project data of Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P. (FCT). Retrieved 2026-10-22. Licence: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (OpenAIRE Graph). Selected metadata, adapted presentation; the publisher's record is authoritative. No endorsement by the source is implied. Licence: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).

AI-assisted summary: HyperQuIm is a project funded by FCT with a grant of EUR 59,144.70, running from January 1, 2026, to June 30, 2027. It focuses on advancing hyperspectral quantum imaging technologies using Imaging with Undetected Photons. Suggested technology pillar: sensing. Generated by AI from the public source text; it may contain errors and the original source is authoritative.