First programmable quantum sensor

© University of Innsbruck/Harald Ritsch

Physicists led by Peter Zoller and Thomas Monz at the University of Innsbruck have designed the first programmable quantum sensor and tested it in the laboratory. To do so they applied techniques from quantum information processing to a measurement problem. The innovative method opens up new prospects for quantum sensors whose precision will be close to the limit set by the laws of nature.

A research group led by Peter Zoller in Innsbruck has developed a new concept that can be used to operate sensors with even greater precision, regardless of which particular technical platform is used to make the sensor. "We answer the question of how precise a sensor can be with existing control capabilities and provide a recipe for how this can be achieved," explain Denis Vasilyev and Raphael Kaubrügger from Peter Zoller's group at the Institute of Quantum Optics and Quantum Information at the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Innsbruck.

"We have demonstrated a crucial component of quantum-enhanced atomic clocks with our variational Ramsey interferometry," says Peter Zoller. "The next step is running this in a dedicated atomic clock. What has so far only been shown for calculations of questionable practical relevance could be demonstrated with a programmable quantum sensor in the near future – the real quantum advantage."

In this regard, also read: € 107 million for quantum research!