Devices capable of sensing their environment are becoming more pervasive in our daily activities. From the thermostats in our homes, to the accelerometers and pressure sensors in our cars, to the cameras, microphones, gyroscopes, GPSs (and increasingly much more) in our smartphones, having devices capable of reliably detecting the world around them has shaped our everyday lives. The next evolutionary step in increased accuracy and dependability for many of these sensors will be the introduction of quantum sensing. 

The holy grail in many fields of quantum research is reaching the point where technologies employing quantum mechanics can consistently outperform their classical (non-quantum) counterparts. Achieving this is called the quantum advantage. In the case of sensing, it has already been shown that certain quantum sensors are capable of achieving higher resolution, higher sensitivity, or can better pick out the message from a noisy signal, although more refinement is still needed.

A roadblock in being able to bring quantum sensing technologies to market are the current limitations in technology. Advances in time-tagging camera technology with nanosecond resolution have made it possible to dramatically decrease the data-collection time from hours down to minutes, and this in the last 10 years. Improvements in single-photon detection technology lead us to believe that commercializing quantum sensing should be feasible within the next decade. Researchers at NexQT have a strong track record  providing us with the world-class foundation needed to push the boundaries of what is possible.

NexQT Researchers who work on Quantum Sensing and Imaging:
Xiaoyi Bao
Robert Boyd
Hang Chi
Paul Corkum
Serge Desgreniers
Eva Hemmer
Ebrahim Karimi
Adina Luican-Meyer
Jeff Lundeen
Jean-Michel Ménard
Albert Stolow