‘Great feeling’ to get US patent
DUNEDIN physicists Dr Amita Deb and Prof Niels Kjaergaard have gained a United States patent for their new quantum radio technology.
The researchers work at the University of Otago physics department, and the DoddWalls Centre for Photonic and Quantum Technologies.
Their new, worldfirst ‘‘RyFi’’ system uses an optical antenna based on Rydberg atoms which can convert data from wireless radio to optical fibre communications without any linking electronics.
The system effectively uses a gas of ‘‘singing atoms’’ which convert voices and radio music and transmit them via fibre optic cable.
‘‘It’s quite exciting,’’ Dr Deb said.
It was also a ‘‘great feeling’’ to gain the US patent, which was hard to achieve, he said.
The technology used atoms to encode wireless data at very high frequencies on to laser light, and huge amounts of information could be transmitted.
The information could travel thousands of kilometres via cable with little loss of signal strength, and with high security — the latter point already attracting overseas interest.
Centre director Prof David Hutchinson said that such developments could contribute to the future of New Zealand’s hightechnology industries, which already generated $1.2 billion a year, he said.