Advances in quantum mechanics have long underpinned metrology by enabling practical realizations of units through quantum effects. With the 2019 SI revision, traceability is anchored in defined fundamental constants, reinforcing the quantum-mechanical basis of modern standards. In parallel, quantum technologies are transitioning from laboratory science to engineering and early industrial deployment, bringing familiar pressures for integration, reliability, cost reduction, supply-chain formation, and standardization. The direction of benefit is thus reversing: metrology and precision measurement are becoming enabling infrastructure for the industrialization of quantum technologies. Against this backdrop, this paper surveys the metrology and precision-measurement capabilities required across representative quantum-computing modalities and identifies where electrical and related metrology can contribute to the development, characterization, and reliable operation of quantum hardware. We then discuss cross-cutting measurement needs and standardization opportunities that recur across platforms, and note how similar frameworks can extend to emerging quantum-sensing applications.
Advances in quantum mechanics have long underpinned metrology by enabling practical realizations of units through quantum effects. With the 2019 SI revision, traceability is anchored in defined fundamental constants, reinforcing the quantum-mechanical basis of modern standards. In parallel, quantum technologies are transitioning from laboratory science to engineering and early industrial deployment, bringing familiar pressures for integration, reliability, cost reduction, supply-chain formation, and standardization. The direction of benefit is thus reversing: metrology and precision measurement are becoming enabling infrastructure for the industrialization of quantum technologies. Against this backdrop, this paper surveys the metrology and precision-measurement capabilities required across representative quantum-computing modalities and identifies where electrical and related metrology can contribute to the development, characterization, and reliable operation of quantum hardware. We then discuss cross-cutting measurement needs and standardization opportunities that recur across platforms, and note how similar frameworks can extend to emerging quantum-sensing applications.
Quantum physics looks back at over a century of tradition and represents the foundation of metrology. The last twenty years of progress in science and technology have seen a tremendous increase in the level of control over quantum systems at the most elementary level. This development paves the way for novel applications of quantum technology with relevance for economy and potentially disruptive impact. With this potential comes the need to support the dynamic development with metrology for the emerging quantum industry to create trust, reliability, enable comparability and thus lay the foundation for a future quality infrastructure. The Quantum Technology Center (QTZ) at PTB is addressing this need for several quantum technologies. Examples include: Ion traps, as a hardware platform for quantum clocks, quantum sensors and quantum computers, have evolved to mature quantum devices which already made the step from a research object into an industrial product. Providing novel products for end users requires fair comparisons of these devices, consequently requiring standardized methods for testing and characterization. QTZ has successfully established a characterization setup for ion traps from industry and academia, providing a stable environment for reproducible and fair comparisons. Many quantum communication technologies, particularly quantum key distribution, operate within the single-photon domain, leveraging the non-cloning theorem to prevent eavesdropping by transmitting individual photons. QTZ contributes to the establishment of a robust foundation for standardized characterization and future certification activities, by offering testing facilities for key components, such as single-photon detectors, optical attenuators, isolators, and spectral filters. The precise clocked transport of single electrons has gained a lot of interest for the 2019 revised SI system as a unique and elegant way of a direct realization of the unit ampere. QTZ is developing single-electron pumps based on quantum dots, with the general objectives of robustness, reproducibility and scaling. In addition to their primary use in metrology, these universal devices can be of interest for applications in quantum technology, e.g. in quantum computing as so-called spin qubit shuttles, a connecting path over several µm in length between different qubits, enabling the scaling of complex multiple qubit systems. Across all fields, documentary standards, developed in an international consensus framework, are a fundamental part of a successful quantum technology ecosystem. PTB is actively contributing to the International IEC/ISO JTC3 and the European CEN/CENELEC JTC22. These activities are complemented by several projects in cooperation with industry. In this contribution, we will give an overview of our activities and discuss future challenges and opportunities of metrology for quantum technology and the emerging quantum industry.
Background: High-precision sensing is vital for modern technology, yet conventional sensors are fundamentally constrained by classical noise limits. Quantum sensing leverages principles of quantum mechanics, such as superposition and entanglement, to overcome these barriers, offering unprecedented sensitivity. This review comprehensively analyzes the current state of quantum sensor technology, focusing on its underlying physical principles, emerging applications, and the pathway toward industrial maturation.Methods: We synthesize findings from key research areas, detailing the foundational quantum systems like Nitrogen-Vacancy (NV) centers in diamond and advanced optical techniques. The paper reviews the theoretical methods used to achieve sub-shot-noise performance and discusses the system-level engineering challenges necessary for practical deployment, particularly concerning microwave control and optical readout. We also assess the current landscape of standardization efforts for quantum technologies.Results: Significant breakthroughs are highlighted in both biomedical and environmental sensing. Applications range from tracking cellular redox-status using electron-paramagnetic resonance to ultra-sensitive salinity measurements. The analysis confirms that quantum sensing provides superior resolution compared to classical counterparts, unlocking new capabilities in in-vivo and real-time monitoring.Discussion: While offering transformative potential, widespread adoption faces hurdles, including the maintenance of quantum coherence in ambient environments and the high cost and complexity of current instrumentation. Future efforts must focus on miniaturization, integration with classical systems, and standardized fabrication protocols. Quantum sensing represents the next-generation technological paradigm for metrology.
The ongoing second quantum revolution will lead to unprecedented technological capabilities opening up important scientific progress and business opportunities. The worldwide investments in quantum technology are important in the academic as well as in the industrial sector. However, these new technologies must also be duly characterised and calibrated with measurements traceable to the International System of Units, as it is the standard today for classical technologies. An accessible and fit for purpose testing infrastructure for quantum technology is thus clearly needed. In this paper we give an overview of our vision of a Swiss metrology competence centre for quantum technologies at the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology METAS and highlight the present state of the recent developments.
Quantum technologies are moving from foundational science toward engineered systems in sensing and metrology, computing and simulation, communication and networking, and security. The transition is uneven in technological maturity: atomic clocks and several quantum sensors are operational; quantum key distribution has reached field deployment but remains constrained by integration, assurance and network architecture; post-quantum cryptography is entering standards-based migration; and general-purpose fault-tolerant quantum computing remains an engineering objective despite major progress in error correction. This treatise develops a mathematically grounded and application-oriented account of what quantum technologies are, what physical resources they exploit, what advantages have been proved or demonstrated, and where claims remain speculative. It distinguishes among scientific feasibility, engineering readiness, operational utility, economic value and societal legitimacy. Across fundamental physics, Earth and space sciences, environmental monitoring, health and life sciences, cybersecurity, critical infrastructure, hazards, defense, finance, decision support and AI-enabled systems, this work identifies bottlenecks and proposes a systems roadmap for robust, scalable, efficient, verifiable and responsible quantum-enabled capabilities.
Emerging technologies demand innovations in metrology: • Agility – to keep pace with a rapidly changing technical landscape; • Ability – to develop novel, perhaps first-ever, measurement capabilities; • Comparability and interoperability – across vendors, in commercial timeframes; • Accelerated delivery – because formal standards may be obsolete by the time they’re published. The same quantum technologies that have revolutionized metrology, such as Josephson junctions that are used to create the world’s most accurate voltage standards and ion traps that are used in time and frequency standards, also underpin emerging new markets in quantum computing, networking and sensing – and these quantum-based products require entirely new approaches for measurement and characterization. The world’s metrology institutes have been at the forefront of the quantum revolution, being both early developers and adopters of quantum technologies for metrology, and are uniquely poised to spearhead the development of metrology for quantum – those measurements and related standards needed by industry to underpin quantum-based products. The metrology community is positioned to create trust in the emerging quantum economy due to its long history of objectivity, neutrality and international collaboration; anticipating industry’s needs to be ready with rigorous measurement capabilities as technologies evolve; and its having formed institutions such as the CIPM, BIPM and IMEKO to support collaborative efforts. The BIPM hosted a workshop in March 2024 which brought together 149 participants from 43 NMIs and designated institutes (DIs) from 39 economies, along with industry representatives, to discuss how best to leverage the expertise of the worlds national metrology institutes (NMIs) and their designated institutes (DIs) to accelerate the development and adoption of quantum technologies through measurements and standards. The workshop supported coordinated development and sharing of measurement “best practices” in support of future standardization, the mission of a new collaborative initiative referred to as NMI-Q. The NMI-Q organizing committee, comprised of representatives of the NMIs of Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, are working on a cooperation framework inspired by the successful VAMAS organization, which conducts coordinated pre-standardization work in material science. NMI-Q has initiated early work in quantum photonics, and expects to expand to a breadth of technical areas, such as measurement and characterization to support multiple quantum computing platforms, quantum networking models, and sensing modalities.