Klea Dhmitri (Hamamatsu): Photonics as the hidden backbone of quantum hardware scaling

Klea Dhmitri of Hamamatsu joins Yuval to discuss the company’s role as a photonic component provider for trapped-ion and neutral-atom quantum computers. She explains key technologies such as photomultiplier tubes (PMTs), SPADs, and quantitative CMOS cameras, and how scaling to larger qubit arrays changes requirements for speed, resolution, and integration. Klea also shares how customer demand is pushing product innovation, reflects on her unconventional path into quantum, and offers advice for those looking to build careers in photonics and quantum technologies. Yuval: Hello, Klea. Thank you for joining me today. Klea: Hi, Yuval. I’m glad to be here. Yuval: So who are you and what do you do? Klea: Hi, yes, happy to introduce myself. So I’m Klea Dhmitri and I work for Hamamatsu Corporation, which is the North American subsidiary of Hamamatsu Photonics. And I will be with Hamamatsu eight years in June. And what I do here is I lead our quantum computing and quantum communication project here in North America. And so what that means is I engage a lot with the community in helping, you know, folks from academia to industry find solutions of the product, help them find photonic solutions of the current products that…