I will discuss opportunities for new regimes of quantum-limited imaging and detection that are enabled by recent advances at the confluence of materials innovation, the development of functional metamaterials, and foundational concepts of quantum metrology. Together, these advances allow for a redefinition of fundamental limits to imaging or detection by enabling new modalities, enhancing light-matter interactions at the nanoscale or creating new opportunities for applications ranging from nanoscale biochemistry to space-based remote sensing. Using ongoing DARPA efforts such as OpTIm (Optomechanical Thermal Imaging) and SAVaNT (Science of Atomic Vapors for New Technologies) as exemplars, I will also discuss various approaches to transitioning novel laboratory-scale proofs-of-concept to deployable technologies.
I will discuss opportunities for new regimes of quantum-limited imaging and detection that are enabled by recent advances at the confluence of materials innovation, the development of functional metamaterials, and foundational concepts of quantum metrology. Together, these advances allow for a redefinition of fundamental limits to imaging or detection by enabling new modalities, enhancing light-matter interactions at the nanoscale or creating new opportunities for applications ranging from nanoscale biochemistry to space-based remote sensing. Using ongoing DARPA efforts such as OpTIm (Optomechanical Thermal Imaging) and SAVaNT (Science of Atomic Vapors for New Technologies) as exemplars, I will also discuss various approaches to transitioning novel laboratory-scale proofs-of-concept to deployable technologies.
The field of quantum sensing leverages quantum mechanical resources such as superposition, entanglement, and squeezing to surpass classical limits in measurement precision and enable new sensing modalities. This Special Topic Collection in Applied Physics Reviews brings together recent advances spanning theory, materials, device engineering, and applications of quantum sensors. Contributions cover a wide range of platforms, including atomic, solid-state, optomechanics, and photonics, highlighting both fundamental science and emerging technologies. The collection illustrates the transition of quantum sensing from foundational concepts toward scalable technologies and broadens its impact across physics, engineering, and applied sciences.
Quantum-enhanced sensing has emerged as a transformative technology with the potential to surpass classical sensing modalities in precision and sensitivity.This study explores the advancements and applications of quantum-enhanced sensing, emphasizing its capacity to bridge fundamental physics and practical implementations.The current progress in experimental demonstrations of quantum-enhanced sensing systems was reviewed, focusing on breakthroughs in metrology and the development of physically realizable sensor architectures.Two practical implementations of quantum-enhanced sensors based on trapped ions were proposed.The first design utilizes Ramsey interferometry with spin-squeezed atomic ensembles, employing laser-induced spin-exchange interactions to reconstruct the sensing Hamiltonian.This approach enables measurement rates to scale with the number of sensing atoms, achieving sensitivity enhancements beyond the standard quantum limit (SQL).The second implementation introduces mean-field interactions mediated by coupled optical cavities that share coherent atomic probes, enabling the realization of high-performance sensing systems.Both sensor systems were demonstrated to be feasible on state-ofthe-art ion-trap platforms, offering promising benchmarks for future applications in metrology and imaging.Particular attention was given to the integration of quantum-enhanced sensing with complementary imaging technologies, which continues to gain traction in medical imaging and other fields.The mutual reinforcement of quantum and complementary technologies is increasingly supported by significant investments from governmental, academic, and commercial entities.The ongoing pursuit of improved measurement resolution and imaging fidelity underscores the interdependence of these innovations, advancing the transition of quantum-enhanced sensing from fundamental research to widespread practical use.
Quantum sensors and metrology harness quantum phenomena—such as superposition, entanglement, and squeezing—to achieve precision measurements beyond classical limits. This review presents an overview of the fundamental principles underlying quantum sensing, including quantum coherence, entanglement-assisted measurement, and quantum-enhanced interferometry. Various quantum sensor platforms are discussed, including atomic clocks, nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center magnetometers, superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs), optomechanical sensors, and trapped-ion systems. We explore their operational mechanisms, performance metrics, and technological implementations. Comparative analyses highlight sensitivity, spatial resolution, bandwidth, and environmental robustness. Advances in materials, control techniques, and hybrid architectures are examined, and emerging applications in navigation, geophysics, medical imaging, and fundamental physics are reviewed. Finally, future prospects for scalable and robust quantum metrology are discussed.
The 20th century has witnessed the rise of quantum mechanics and its fueled scientific and technological revolution. The humankind is now on the verge of a second quantum revolution sparked by quantum information science and engineering (QISE). Entanglement as a quintessential quantum resource lies at the heart of QISE, giving rise to a plethora of quantum-enabled or enhanced capabilities that shift the landscape of communication, sensing, and computing. This talk will focus on sensing and precision metrology enhanced by entanglement, a unique and radically new resource for information processing. I will describe our recent experimental advances in entanglement-based quantum machine learning for data classification and entangled sensor networks for precise radiofrequency and optomechanical sensing. A pathway toward large-scale quantum sensor networks and prospects for future applications underpinned by quantum-enhanced sensing will also be discussed.
Recent years have seen rapid advances in our ability to harness, manipulate, or enhance quantum effects within artificial nanostructures and electronic metamaterials. Synthetic materials, including nanopatterned electronic structures, Moir´e materials, and quantum hetero-structures, can enable the bottom-up functional engineering of electronic band structure, electron-phonon interactions, thermal transport, kinetic nonlinearity, and other material properties. In turn, such functional materials engineering, when applied to superconducting nanoelectronics, can lead to enhanced functionalities and new operating regimes in devices ranging from SC qubits for quantum information science, single-photon detectors, quantum-limited parametric amplifiers, and millimeterwave quantum technologies. We propose to develop a new class of quantum-limited parametric amplifiers, based on superconducting (SC) Josephson metamaterials with strong and tailor-able nonlinearity in the microwave regime. Our innovation is in the establishment of a fundamentally new light-matter interacting system, through the unique combination of SC Josephson nonlinear metamaterials and surface magnon-polariton resonators.