{
  "id": 15999627,
  "title": "Could China’s 100-channel single-photon detector enable broadband quantum internet?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/22/could-chinas-100-channel-single-photon-detector-enable-broadband",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-22T04:34:18.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Reuters Business via SCMP",
    "slug": "reuters-business-via-scmp",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3371729/could-chinas-100-channel-single-photon-detector-enable-broadband-quantum-internet"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Chinese researchers have developed a highly advanced 100-channel single-photon detector, a groundbreaking achievement that could revolutionize broadband quantum networks. Traditionally, single-photon detectors were limited to supporting a maximum of 32 detection channels, but the newly designed system by a Shanghai-based team has expanded this capacity beyond 100 channels, maintaining accurate and stable operation. This significant breakthrough improves the scalability of photonic quantum applications, such as quantum computing, communications, and metrology. The research was conducted by scientists at the Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and published in the peer-reviewed journal Laser & Photonics Reviews.\n\nSuperconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) are currently the most advanced technology available for single-photon detection. They offer high detection efficiency, fast response speeds, and high time resolution, making them crucial components in various applications like quantum computing, light detection and ranging (LIDAR), and single-photon imaging. However, scaling up these systems has always been a challenge due to thermal load from cooling requirements. These detectors need to be cooled to near absolute zero, and traditional coaxial cables, used to transmit signals externally, introduce substantial thermal load in the cryogenic environment.\n\nThe Shanghai team addressed this issue by designing an innovative interconnect scheme with ultra-thin, flexible materials called \"high-density multi-core microstrip lines.\" These specialized materials significantly reduce heat leakage into the cryogenic chamber, down to just one twenty-first of that generated by traditional cables. The new design also incorporates architectural innovations to achieve stability and miniaturization. The researchers successfully demonstrated the system's capabilities during a seven-day, 24-hour test, maintaining the cryogenic platform's temperature below 2.1K and achieving a detection efficiency exceeding 80% across all 100 channels. To showcase the platform's potential, the team built a five-user quantum entanglement distribution network, establishing 10 two-way quantum links. The communication fidelity surpassed 90% across all links, proving the practical applicability of the groundbreaking detection system.",
  "summary": "Chinese scientists have developed a 100-channel single-photon detector, a breakthrough promising to pave the way for broadband quantum networks. State-of-the-art single-photon detectors – essential components underpinning photonic quantum technologies – could previously support a maximum of 32 detection channels for photon signals. Now, a newly developed interconnect scheme by a Shanghai-based…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}