Benjamin Hopkins
Research Mentor(s): Zheshen Zhang
Mentor Department: Electrical and Computer Engineering
Authors: Benjamin Hopkins, Zheshen Zhang
Session: Session 7 (4:00pm – 4: 50pm)
Presentation Type: Poster 32
Abstract
Quantum technology has grown in popularity as of late due to its computational advantages over classical computing. Quantum effects such as entanglement and superposition allow for substantial computational speedups over that of conventional computing. This research lab’s goal is to harness these unique quantum effects to develop advanced quantum networking and computing technologies that are well beyond the capabilities of classical computers. All of the systems within the lab require sensors and detectors to accurately characterize and measure their outputs. My responsibilities in the lab included fabricating these detectors to be used in later measurements and tests. To accomplish this, circuit components were soldered onto a pre-made printed circuit board, after which the board was placed inside an aluminum housing for ease of handling, as well as protection of the board itself. Functionally, the detector utilizes two photodiodes to convert two sources of input light into an electrical photocurrent. The difference in the produced photocurrents is outputted, producing information pertaining to the input sources. The detectors are used in the quantum sensing and networking platforms in the lab, allowing for achieving quantum advantages over classical technology.
