QuantIC is excited to announce Thorlabs has released to the market a commercial, turnkey correlated photon-pair source tool (SPDC810); pioneered by the research and development of start-up company, Raycal.

Dr Mateusz Piekarek, Director of Raycal Ltd said “It is exciting to see this novel product reach the market and be available to customers globally. We are proud to have played an integral role in commercialising this technology. Single-photon sources are essential devices for quantum optics research. This turn-key solution will not only allow quantum photonics researchers to enhance their capabilities, but also lower the barriers for specialists from other disciplines”

The product works by using spontaneous parametric down-conversion, to create a pair of energy-time entangled photons, resulting in a bright, high-efficiency heralded single-photon source – that is ideal for quantum optics applications.

Director of Thorlabs’ Laser Division, Peter Fendel said “This is an exciting addition to Thorlabs’ line up of products for the Quantum Photonics community. The project started when a researcher from the University of Bristol reached out asking if we could expedite the efforts of those working in quantum optics labs by offering a compact, reliable single photon source. Prompted by that need, we engaged in a collaborative effort that led to the development of the SPDC source”

About Raycal:
Established in 2018, Raycal was founded by QTEC fellow Mateusz Piekarek and QuantIC researcher Jonathan Matthews at the University of Bristol. The company provides consulting services in the area of quantum technologies, with special focus on imaging and metrology. The company has a wide range of expertise including product development, market research and technology analysis. It was the technical development supported by QuantIC, combined with the business skills fostered by the QTEC training programme at University of Bristol that helped push forward the business model and eventual commercialisation of the high-performance Photon Source.

Dr Jonathan Matthews, Associate Professor in quantum technology at the University of Bristol, commented: “It is rewarding to see a research tool, that we’ve traditionally had to re-build many times over for quantum optics experiments from scratch, become commercially available as a turn-key solution. I don’t think this would have happened without the support of QUANTIC and the QTEC training programme”


First published: 19 August 2020