Quantum Sensing

Qubiz researchers have pioneered fundamentally new approaches to sensing in proof-of-principle demonstrations of magnetic-field detection beyond quantum limits.

Quantum mechanics tells us that when light interacts with atoms they can become entangled, that is they exist in quantum superpositions. Such entanglement, which the founding fathers of quantum mechanics considered its most fundamental and most controversial feature, is used at QUANTOP for breaking established limits in communication and sensing of fields and forces. Teleportation of quantum states of objects, generation of single photons on demand, quantum memory for light, and measurements of fields and forces beyond the limit set by the Heisenberg uncertainty principle are among the experiments we perform.

Generation of quantum superposition states and entanglement requires extreme control of photons and material objects and careful protection from decoherence caused by the environment. Various experimental techniques, including lasers, structured fibers, vacuum- and cryogenic setups and sensitive electronics have been developed to achieve such control. Experiments with as diverse objects as room temperature atoms, cold atoms trapped around a nanofiber and high-Q mechanical membranes are carried out. Our goal is to develop future quantum technologies based on superposition and entangled states of light and matter.

The research for Quantum Sensing will include focus areas on:

• Diamond based 2+1-dimensional magnetometry
  We will develop compact magnetic field sensors with unprecedented combination of field sensitivity and spatial resolution for bio-medical sensing.
• Quantum Magnetometer for biomedical applicationsWe aim to develop a highly-sensitive, practical miniature magnetometer and show a lab demonstration of the magnetometer’s capability to detect biologically relevant signals.
• RF-to-Optical Transducer
  This research combines recent advances MEMS devices with optical sensing in a novel way that is both simple to model and understand whilst being compatible with a general set of electronic circuits that are standard fare in many applications.