A new quantum sensor developed by researchers at the University of Waterloo’s Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) has proven it can outperform existing technologies and promises significant advancements in long-range 3D imaging and monitoring the success of cancer treatments (Nature Nanotechnology, “Tapered InP nanowire arrays for efficient broadband high-speed single-photon detection”). | |
The sensors are the first of their kind and are based on semiconductor nanowires that can detect single particles of light with high timing resolution, speed and efficiency over an unparalled wavelength range, from ultraviolet to near-infrared. | |
The technology also has the ability to significantly improve quantum communication and remote sensing capabilities.
“A sensor needs to be very efficient at detecting light. In applications like quantum radar, surveillance, and nighttime operation, very few particles of light return to the device,” said principal investigator Michael Reimer, an IQC faculty member and assistant professor in the Faculty of Engineering’s electrical and computer engineering department. “In these cases, you want to be able to detect every single photon coming in. “The next generation quantum sensor designed in Reimer’s lab is so fast and efficient that it can absorb and detect a single particle of light, called a photon, and refresh for the next one within nanoseconds. The researchers created an array of tapered nanowires that turn incoming photons into electric current that can be amplified and detected. |
Image Credit: Uni. of Waterloo

News This Week
Biopharma Creates New Generation LNPs In A Run For A More Efficient COVID-19 Vaccine
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for fast-produced and adaptable vaccines that could be equally distributed around the world. Developing an efficient mRNA vaccine that is effective, thermostable, and has fewer side effects strongly [...]
Researchers Assess How Well Machine Learning Predicts Nanotoxicology
Engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) have found their applications in various technologies and consumer products. Manipulating chemicals at the nanoscale range introduces unique characteristics to these materials and makes them desirable for technological applications. With the [...]
Smart nanoparticle shows that intermittent fasting may protect the heart from damage during chemotherapy
Although chemotherapy can be a lifesaving treatment for patients with cancer, some of these medications can damage the heart. A team led by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) recently developed a nanoparticle probe [...]
From nasal vaccines to pills: the next defences against Covid
When the autumn booster programme begins next month, many people are likely to receive Moderna’s new bivalent vaccine, designed to protect against the original Covid strain and the more transmissible Omicron variant. As Covid continues [...]
Novel design for nanoparticles that train immune cells into fighting cancer
Scientists of the department of Advanced Organ Bioengineering and Therapeutics (TechMed Centre) recently published a novel cancer immune therapy in the scientific journal Nature Communications ("Cancer immune therapy using engineered ‛tail-flipping’ nanoliposomes targeting alternatively activated macrophages"). [...]
Smart contact lenses for cancer diagnostics and screening
Scientists from the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation (TIBI) have developed a contact lens that can capture and detect exosomes, nanometer-sized vesicles found in bodily secretions which have the potential for being diagnostic cancer [...]
Novel Nanoplatform Found Effective Against Esophageal Cancer
Among the total number of deaths caused by different types of cancer, esophageal cancer is the sixth most significant. Several conventional treatments, such as radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and surgery have multiple side effects, including off-target [...]
Stem Cell Membrane-Coated Nanoparticles in Tumor Therapy
Cell membrane-coated nanoparticles, applied in targeted drug delivery strategies, combine the intrinsic advantages of synthetic nanoparticles and cell membranes. Although stem cell-based delivery systems were highlighted for their targeting capability in tumor therapy, inappropriate [...]
The TB Vaccine Mysteriously Protects Against Lots of Things. Now We Know Why
When babies in the African countries of Guinea Bissau and Uganda were given the tuberculosis vaccine, something remarkable happened. Instead of the vaccine only protecting against the target bacteria – Myocbacterium tuberculosis – the tuberculosis vaccine offered broad protection against a [...]
Extinct Pathogens Ushered The Fall of Ancient Civilizations, Scientists Say
Thousands of years ago, across the Eastern Mediterranean, multiple Bronze Age civilizations took a distinct turn for the worse at around the same time. The Old Kingdom of Egypt and the Akkadian Empire both collapsed, and there was [...]
The Origins of Covid-19 Are More Complicated Than Once Thought
IN OCTOBER 2014, virologist Edward Holmes took a tour of the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, a once relatively overlooked city of about 11 million people in the central Chinese province of Hubei. The market would [...]
Self-Healable, Human-Like Artificial Skin
Self-healable ionic sensing materials with fatigue resistance are imperative in robotics and soft electronics for extended service life. The existing artificial ionic skins with self-healing capacity were prepared by network reconfiguration, constituting low-energy amorphous [...]
Nanoparticles increase light scattering, boost solar cell performance
As demand for solar energy rises around the world, scientists are working to improve the performance of solar devices—important if the technology is to compete with traditional fuels. But researchers face theoretical limits on [...]
Scientists Use Shrimp Shell Nanoparticles to Strengthen Cement
When shrimp shell nanoparticles were mixed into cement paste, the material became substantially stronger — researchers propose an innovation that could lead to less seafood waste and fewer carbon dioxide emissions from concrete production. [...]
Does This Video Show A Nanobot Inseminating Egg With “Lazy” Sperm?
A black-and-white video shared on social media showed a microscopic corkscrew-shaped helix as it appeared to consume a sperm, transport it, and ultimately lead the little swimmer into the wall of an [...]
Study Could Help Reduce Environmental Risk of Quantum Dots
Polymers containing quantum dots (QDs) are considered crucial components of next-generation consumer items, but ambiguity remains regarding how these compounds may negatively affect public health and the environment. A pre-proof paper from the Journal of Hazardous [...]
Leave A Comment