QUANTUM SENSING/ENVIROMENT


“The techniques we are developing will deliver higher sensitivity to small concentrations of gas”


cheap and simple silicon-based cameras like those found in a standard mobile phone, and we can still see the infrared absorption that occurred.


In what way will this new method aid in environmental monitoring and research? It is incredibly important for us to know where our greenhouse gas emissions are coming from, and in what quantity. We are particularly interested in detecting methane, which contributes hugely to climate change with an ability to trap heat in the atmosphere that is even stronger than that of carbon dioxide. The techniques we are developing will deliver higher sensitivity to small concentrations of gas, detecting gas leaks or other spurious emissions before they get more serious, as well as developing methods for fusing data from multiple sensors of different types and over different ranges – both spatial and temporal – so


that we can have a broad and dynamically updated picture of methane emissions that is accurate and can be used for fast intervention.


What are the key advantages of using the new sensing method? All spectroscopy techniques tend to use optics, as they are dealing with measuring the optical spectrum. However, our techniques are all built around increasing the sensitivity, speed, robustness, size, weight, cost and power of new devices. Our techniques often harness the principles of quantum mechanics, such as superposition and entanglement, to make this possible. We then leverage the use of integrated photonics, which brings with it repeatability, the ability to make many sensors in the same device – so have parallel measurements – and brings inherent stability to interferometric devices, where wavelength-level stability is required to ensure optical interference.


What are the key challenges you face in developing and using photonics technologies


FEATURE


A red laser-pumped nonlinear interferometer used for methane sensing


for applications like this? A particular challenge is making sure our technology is robust enough to be used outside of the laboratory, and that it is competitively priced. In Bristol, we are particularly proud of our ability to translate technology from basic research into useful products, with our Quantum Technologies Enterprise Centre (QTEC) and Quantum Technologies Innovation Centre (QTIC), now broadly contained under the umbrella Quantum Frontiers. Indeed, our recent spin-out company, QLM Technologies, benefited from entrepreneurship


training from QTEC, and is now manufacturing methane detector systems and selling them to end users.


What innovations and trends do you expect in the use of photonics-based spectroscopy for environmental monitoring and research? Miniaturisation is a key advance that helps bring technology to market. I currently expect further integration into photonic chips, alongside compact electronics and detectors included on the same device, to bring advanced quantum sensors to the masses. EO


Taking on climate change with space-based spectroscopy


Brian Pramann, Programme Manager of BAE Systems’ MethaneSAT project, talks to Abigail Williams about putting spectrometers in orbit


www.electrooptics.com I


n March, BAE Systems celebrated the successful launch of the MethaneSAT satellite from Vandenberg


Space Force Base in California. The satellite, developed in partnership with the company’s customers at the US Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and MethaneSAT, LLC, will provide the research community, as well as the public at large, with valuable and reliable scientific data about the


sources and scale of methane emissions globally – including those from the oil and gas sector, which accounts for about 40% of all human-caused methane emissions – and help in the ongoing quest to drive reductions in the near future. Electro Optics sat down


with Brian Pramann, Systems Engineer in the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder – who served as the


Brian Pramann, Systems Engineer in the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder, and Programme Manager for the MethaneSAT


May 2024 Electro Optics 17 ›


BAE Systems


Picture courtesy of Dr Arthur Cardoso, QET Labs, University of Bristol


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