SLAM - Squeezed Light quAntum MEMS Gravimeter

"Work at the University of Glasgow has already taken a silicon fabricated mass on a spring fabricated using the same Micro- Electro Mechancal System (MEMS) technology to the gyroscope in all smart phones that determine orientation and improved the sensitivity by a factor of 5000\. This MEMS gravimeter has the potential to be used to search for new oil & gas researches, find buried utilities quickly thereby reducing roadworks and provide an early warning for volcanic eruptions. The project aims to deliver a quantum squeezed light source with pairs of correlated photons that can be used to measure the output of the MEMS gravimeter improve the sensitivity by up to a factor of 40\. The project involves developing a photodetector that can detect single photons which also has applications of rangefinding (determining how far away objects are by bouncing photons off them and timing their return) at wavelengths of light that can see through rain, mist and fog.

A key objective is to secure a UK supply chain using IQE to deliver commercial Ge on Si epitaxy for single photon detectors and Optocap to produce chip-scale vacuum packages with fibe-optic access which are essential components for the MEMS gravimeter."