Superconductive individual photon detectors for quantum communications

Operation co-funded by EU cohesion policy (European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)) under the programme Multi-regional Spain - ERDF (2014ES16RFOP002), managing authority: Subdirección General de Gestión del FEDER, de la Dirección General de Fondos Europeos del Ministerio de Hacienda.. The source names no beneficiary for this operation. Location: Barcelona Province (NUTS ES511); Spain. Budget: total eligible expenditure EUR 143,154; EU co-financing EUR 71,577 (co-financing rate 50%), as stated by the source. Runs 2019-01-01 to 2021-03-31. Source: Kohesio, EU cohesion policy projects managed by national and regional authorities (not CORDIS). Summary from Kohesio (English machine translation by the source): The distribution of quantum resources over large-scale quantum networks is an outstanding challenge in quantum information science. It would form the basis of a quantum internet allowing distributed quantum information processing architectures and secure communications based on long distance quantum cryptography. Quantum communication using optical fiber-based quantum networks requires the transmission and high-efficiency detection of single photons at telecommunication wavelengths. Current semi-conductors single telecom photon detectors feature low efficiencies that are a strong limitation for scaling up quantum networks. The goal of this project is to purchase a set of superconducting nanowire single photon detectors, featuring high detection efficiency and low noise, for quantum networking applications. The system consists in 4 detectors, combined with high-performance electronics and reliable cryogenic system allowing us to reach temperature < 1K in order to obtain optimal performances. The purchased equipment will allow important advances in quantum networking, such as the demonstration of a spin-telecom photon interface with a single erbium ion, the demonstration of long distance entanglement between a telecom photon and a solid-state quantum memory, and the demonstration of heralded entanglement between disparate quantum nodes. These advances will help to position Spain as an important player in quantum communication in Europe.

Original source.

Source: Kohesio (EU cohesion policy projects), European Commission, Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO). Retrieved 2026-10-21. Licence: CC0 1.0 (Cohesion Open Data Platform, dataset 2014-2020 Kohesio projects). Selected metadata, adapted presentation; the publisher's record is authoritative. No endorsement by the source is implied. Licence: public domain dedication (CC0 1.0).

AI-assisted summary: The project focuses on superconductive individual photon detectors for quantum communications, co-funded by the EU with a budget of EUR 143,154. It took place in Barcelona Province from January 2019 to March 2021, addressing challenges in quantum information science. Suggested technology pillar: communication. Generated by AI from the public source text; it may contain errors and the original source is authoritative.