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arXiv:2011.04301 · Physical Review A

Microwave quantum illumination via cavity magnonics

Qizhi Cai, Jinkun Liao, Bohai Shen, Guang‐Can Guo, Qiang Zhou

Published May 17, 2021• 40 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Quantum illumination (QI) is a quantum sensing protocol mainly for target detection which uses entangled signal-idler photon pairs to enhance the detection efficiency of low-reflectivity objects that are immersed in thermal noisy environments. Due to the naturally occurring background radiation, the photon emitted toward potential targets more appropriately lies in the microwave region. Here, we propose a hybrid quantum source based on cavity magnonics for microwave QI, where the medium that bridges the optical and the microwave modes is magnon, the quanta of spin wave. Within experimentally accessible parameters, significant microwave-optical quantum resources of interest can be generated, leading to orders of magnitude lower detecting error probability compared with the electro-optomechanical prototype quantum radar and any classical microwave radar with equal transmitted energy.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.103.052419

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Quantum illumination (QI) is a quantum sensing protocol mainly for target detection which uses entangled signal-idler photon pairs to enhance the detection efficiency of low-reflectivity objects that are immersed in thermal noisy environments. Due to the naturally occurring background radiation, the photon emitted toward potential targets more appropriately lies in the microwave region. Here, we propose a hybrid quantum source based on cavity magnonics for microwave QI, where the medium that bridges the optical and the microwave modes is magnon, the quanta of spin wave. Within experimentally accessible parameters, significant microwave-optical quantum resources of interest can be generated, leading to orders of magnitude lower detecting error probability compared with the electro-optomechanical prototype quantum radar and any classical microwave radar with equal transmitted energy.
Quantum illumination is a quantum-optical sensing technique in which an entangled source is exploited to improve the detection of a low-reflectivity object that is immersed in a bright thermal background. Here, we describe and analyze a system for applying this technique at microwave frequencies, a more appropriate spectral region for target detection than the optical, due to the naturally occurring bright thermal background in the microwave regime. We use an electro-optomechanical converter to entangle microwave signal and optical idler fields, with the former being sent to probe the target region and the latter being retained at the source. The microwave radiation collected from the target region is then phase conjugated and upconverted into an optical field that is combined with the retained idler in a joint-detection quantum measurement. The error probability of this microwave quantum-illumination system, or quantum radar, is shown to be superior to that of any classical microwave radar of equal transmitted energy.
Microwave quantum illumination (QI) represents a paradigm shift in low-power wireless radar detection, leveraging entanglement between signal and idler microwave photons to achieve detection performance exceeding classical limits by up to 6 dB in error exponent, particularly in high-noise environments where traditional coherent radars falter. This comprehensive survey delineates the theoretical foundations and practical protocols of microwave QI, beginning with two-mode squeezed vacuum state generation using Josephson parametric amplifiers in cryogenic setups, which produce highly correlated photon pairs resilient to channel decoherence. Receiver architectures, including optical parametric amplifier-single-photon avalanche diode (OPA-SPADE) systems with sum-frequency generation for joint measurements and digital phase-conjugation for computational correlation recovery, enable efficient extraction of quantum discord even after significant atmospheric loss or low target reflectivity (under 1%).Performance analyses under realistic thermal noise models ( ) and -loss channels confirm sustained quantum advantages via the quantum Chernoff exponent , validated by ray-tracing simulations showing doubled detection range at fixed power and lab experiments at 10 GHz carriers detecting weak reflectors amid 100 K noise. Low-power optimizations such as adaptive entanglement tuning, chirped pulse shaping, and neural network-aided parameter selection yield 50% energy reductions without sacrificing fidelity, making QI viable for battery-limited platforms. Applications encompass short-range automotive/UAV radar for fog-penetrating obstacle avoidance, non-invasive biomedical subsurface imaging with safe radiation levels, covert perimeter security against jamming, and seamless integration into 6G networks via joint communication-sensing waveforms at mm Wave/THz bands. The paper identifies key challenges including multi-target scalability, real-time gigascale processing, and quantum RF interface standardization, proposing hybrid quantum-classical frameworks and entanglement-swapped sensor arrays as pathways to deployment. This work bridges quantum optics with RF engineering, equipping researchers with blueprints for prototyping transformative quantum-enhanced wireless sensing systems.
Quantum illumination is a sensing technique that employs entangled signal-idler beams to improve the detection efficiency of low-reflectivity objects in environments with large thermal noise. The advantage over classical strategies is evident at low signal brightness, a feature which could make the protocol an ideal prototype for non-invasive scanning or low-power short-range radar. Here we experimentally investigate the concept of quantum illumination at microwave frequencies, by generating entangled fields using a Josephson parametric converter which are then amplified to illuminate a room-temperature object at a distance of 1 meter. Starting from experimental data, we simulate the case of perfect idler photon number detection, which results in a quantum advantage compared to the relative classical benchmark. Our results highlight the opportunities and challenges on the way towards a first room-temperature application of microwave quantum circuits.
Quantum illumination uses entangled signal-idler photon pairs to boost the detection efficiency of low-reflectivity objects in environments with bright thermal noise. Its advantage is particularly evident at low signal powers, a promising feature for applications such as noninvasive biomedical scanning or low-power short-range radar. Here, we experimentally investigate the concept of quantum illumination at microwave frequencies. We generate entangled fields to illuminate a room-temperature object at a distance of 1 m in a free-space detection setup. We implement a digital phase-conjugate receiver based on linear quadrature measurements that outperforms a symmetric classical noise radar in the same conditions, despite the entanglement-breaking signal path. Starting from experimental data, we also simulate the case of perfect idler photon number detection, which results in a quantum advantage compared with the relative classical benchmark. Our results highlight the opportunities and challenges in the way toward a first room-temperature application of microwave quantum circuits.
Quantum illumination is a quantum optical sensing technique, which employs an entangled source to detect low-reflectivity object immersed in a bright thermal background. Hybrid cavity-optomagnonics system promises to work as quantum illumination because a yttrium iron garnet (YIG) sphere can couple to microwave field and optical field. In this paper, we propose a scheme to enhance the entanglement between the output fields of the microwave and optical cavities by considering the intrinsic Kerr nonlinearity of the YIG. We investigate the difference between intrinsic Kerr nonlinearity and optomagnonical parametric-type coupling on improving entanglement. Our result show that the large value optomagnonical parametric-type coupling does not mean the large entanglement, nevertheless, the large value of Kerr nonlinearity does monotonously improve the entanglement for our group of parameters. Consequently, under feasible parameters of current experiment, the signal-to-noise ratio and probability of detection error can be improved after considering the magnon Kerr nonlinearity.
Quantum illumination uses entangled signal-idler photon pairs to boost the detection efficiency of low-reflectivity objects in environments with bright thermal noise. Its advantage is particularly evident at low signal powers, a promising feature for applications such as noninvasive biomedical scanning or low-power short-range radar. Here, we experimentally investigate the concept of quantum illumination at microwave frequencies. We generate entangled fields to illuminate a room-temperature object at a distance of 1 m in a free-space detection setup. We implement a digital phase-conjugate receiver based on linear quadrature measurements that outperforms a symmetric classical noise radar in the same conditions, despite the entanglement-breaking signal path. Starting from experimental data, we also simulate the case of perfect idler photon number detection, which results in a quantum advantage compared with the relative classical benchmark. Our results highlight the opportunities and challenges in the way toward a first room-temperature application of microwave quantum circuits.