Three-Detector Scheme Resolves More Than 100 Photons

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility have demonstrated the application of a photon-number-resolving system to accurately resolve more than 100 photons. Individual detectors today can resolve up to about 10 photons, which is too small a number for many quantum-state generation methods. The record, according to the researchers, had been 16 photons.