Abstract Europe has witnessed remarkable developments in quantum sensing technology in recent years. Various companies have entered the field from different perspectives and made significant strides in harnessing the power of quantum phenomena to create highly sensitive and precise sensors. These sensors have the potential to revolutionize a wide range of industries, including healthcare, telecommunications, navigation, and more.
Abstract Europe has witnessed remarkable developments in quantum sensing technology in recent years. Various companies have entered the field from different perspectives and made significant strides in harnessing the power of quantum phenomena to create highly sensitive and precise sensors. These sensors have the potential to revolutionize a wide range of industries, including healthcare, telecommunications, navigation, and more.
The future in sensor development will largely profit from adapting quantum technologies as a key enabler for pushing achievable detection limits and absolute accuracy in measurement to the ultimate limit. With the onset of the second quantum revolution, advanced quantum physics took its way out of university laboratories to research labs of tech companies, where physicists and engineers translate large tabletop quantum experiments into compact, robust and high-quality quantum measurement devices, scalable to high production volumes. The industrialization of such innovative sensing products requires both competitive price and fulfillment of size, weight, and power constraints. This enables applications ranging from magnetometers revolutionizing cardiac diagnostic to sensors allowing GPS-free navigation.
Quantum information science and technology is a vast field that includes computing, telecommunications, detection and sensors, with a wide range of applications. Taken together, these technologies promise to revolutionise our information systems. The significant advances in quantum technologies in recent years, and their implications for security and the economy in particular, have created a real momentum of interest among governments, including in Europe. Despite the impressive advances made by the two giants, China and the United States, and unlike most other digital technologies, Europe (in the geographical sense) is well placed in the global race for quantum technologies. On this promising basis, can Europe hope to achieve technological sovereignty in quantum technology? There are two main challenges: firstly, reconciling the objective of sovereignty with international cooperation, and secondly, ensuring that any quantum strategy is rooted in a holistic, long-term perspective.
Quantum sensing technology is already providing value and potential use cases can shape multiple industries. There are four core technologies with promising applications - solid state spins, neutral atoms, superconducting circuits, and trapped ions - which have sensing capabilities across a broad range of physical properties, including magnetic fields, electric fields, rotation, temperature, gravity, time, and pressure. Which quantum sensing technology and implementation type to use depends on the use case, as they measure different properties and are best suited to specific environments. This paper discusses the potential and current applications of the abovementioned quantum sensing technologies through varied use-case studies. They are presented around four specific industries and along different time horizons, emphasizing the need for further development and enhancement that can be achieved over the conventional counterparts. The full power of quantum sensors is not yet known, but they have the potential to create an entire new ecosystem if researchers, start-ups, and industry leaders work together to explore their applications and get them out of the lab. Here, the paper outlines necessary actions and possible avenues for the stakeholders to realize this potential across academia and industry.
Quantum sensing leverages the properties of quantum systems-such as energy quantization, superposition, and entanglement -to achieve sensitive measurements.[1] Quantum sensors can be based on various platforms, such as photons, cold atoms, solid-state spin qubits, and superconducting circuits, for different applications.Over the last decade, quantum sensing has not only opened new avenues for precision measurement in various scientific domains [2,3] but also made remarkable breakthroughs in biomedical, navigation, energy, and other applications.[4-6] To enhance the benefits of quantum sensing, it is crucial to address challenges related to materials [7] and system engineering [8] to improve sensitivity, reliability, and real-time monitoring.Current research efforts span a diverse range of scientific and technological advancements to address these issues and enable new applications.The Special Issue "Quantum Sensing," edited by Tongcang Li, Renbao Liu, and Chong Zu, features 2 review articles and 13 original articles, reporting the latest advancements in the field.This
Quantum sensors have revolutionized the field of precision measurement by exploiting quantum coherence, entanglement, and interference. These sensors offer unprecedented sensitivity in measuring time, magnetic and electric fields, acceleration, and gravitational forces. Recent developments in atomic clocks, nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center magnetometers, and optomechanical devices have shown significant enhancements in performance. This paper explores the fundamental principles behind quantum sensors, key technological advancements, and real-world applications ranging from navigation to medical imaging and gravitational wave detection.
Abstract. Quantum sensing technologies provide future cities with unimaginable techniques for solving their complex problems. Quantum sensors, through the utilization of quantum effects such as superposition, entanglement, and tunneling, can provide an unmatched level of sensitivity, precision, and durability against traditional sensing technologies. This study explores the potential applications of quantum sensing in four critical urban infrastructure domains: water, energy, transport, and construction. Throughout this study, we determine the most promising quantum sensing technologies for each domain. Besides, we discuss the technical progress of these sensors and the advantages they have in comparison with classical devices, as well as the organizational issues cities can face when implementing these sensors. Our results indicate that quantum sensing will be a critical enabler of future smart cities, generating advanced monitoring, control, and decision-making capabilities across various sectors. Nevertheless, taking advantage of this potential will demand the close partnership of cities, industry, academia, and policymakers to guide the complicated adoption process.