We are proud to announce the publication of a new scientific paper funded by the INPHOMIR project, authored by researchers from GEM elettronica and collaborators.
📄 Title: Atto-Watt Photo-Detection at Mid-Infrared Wavelengths by a Room-Temperature Balanced Heterodyne Set-Up
📚 Journal: Laser & Photonics Reviews
This work demonstrates a room-temperature balanced heterodyne detection (BHD) system operating at 4.6 µm with atto-watt sensitivity, equivalent to detecting just a few tens of photons per second. The system leverages commercially available photodetectors and advanced quantum-cascade-laser (QCL) configurations, pushing the noise-equivalent-power (NEP) close to the shot-noise limit.
This breakthrough opens new possibilities for earth-satellite links, quantum sensing, and few-photon imaging in high-noise environments — all key areas for INPHOMIR’s mission to develop next-generation photonic sensors for navigation systems.
We congratulate the authors and GEM elettronica for this important contribution to the field of mid-infrared photonics and for advancing the technological frontiers supported by INPHOMIR
