RRI spin-off company’s low-cost laser systems to boost quantum optics

Bengaluru: The Raman Research Institute (RRI) on Friday announced that its spin-off company – nexAtom Research and Instruments – will manufacture multi-channel, tunable laser systems which are crucial for quantum optics laboratories.

The indigenously developed platforms can help laboratories overcome the challenge of exorbitant costs involved in acquiring high-precision laser systems, the Bengaluru-based institute said.

At lower costs, these platforms come with greater applications in medicine, remote sensing, geo-mapping, marine navigation and space, and can facilitate advanced research and quantum technology-based industrial applications.

RRI which developed the technology for these precision laser systems recently awarded the license to nexAtom, its first spin-off company which is set to commence production soon.

The institute has filed a provisional Indian patent for ‘Standalone laser system with frequency tunability and precision control’. The development is set to complement India’s Rs-6,000 crore National Quantum Mission (NQM) launched last year and enable the implementation of future quantum-based technology solutions.

The tunable lasers, called External Cavity Diode Lasers, are precise spectroscopic tools that can help develop solutions across quantum communication, quantum technology, quantum system and metrology – all of which are core themes of NQM, led by the Department of Science and Technology, RRI said.

The work on nexAtom’s tunable laser system commenced around 2017.

Subodh Vashist, founder and system design expert of nexAtom, said the system can be customised to meet various end-user requirements. “Also, the need for buying auxiliary systems and instruments, which add to the overall costs, will not be required,” he said.

Sadiq Rangwala, professor at the Light and Matter group at RRI, said nexAtom can set up a template for Indian academia working in the quantum domain towards entrepreneurship.

“The development of a future-compliant prototype laser system is a critical pillar for supporting the upcoming NQM,” Prof Rangwala, who is also the Principal Technical Advisor to the company, said.

India’s quantum push necessitates an ecosystem to build a plethora of customised lasers and associated instruments. This will create a high demand for skilled employees to work on developing indigenous quantum technology-based solutions, Subodh said.