Research Areas - (254) Quantum Sensing

Full path: Physics > Quantum Sensing

Department(s)/lab(s): Physics | Astroparticle Physics Group @ Imperial
Summary:

Wittweg works on the XENONnT liquid-xenon dark matter experiment, focusing on detector calibration, low-background techniques and rare-event/dark-matter analyses; recently joined Imperial and is establishing a new noble-liquid detector research programme.

Department(s)/lab(s): School of Physics | Quantum Control Laboratory @ USyd
Summary:

Wolf works on trapped-ion quantum sensing, using the motional degrees of freedom of single ions and small crystals as transducers for weak electric fields and forces, together with non-classical motional states (squeezed and Fock states) to enhance the achievable sensitivity. The broader agenda is to use trapped ions as a testbed for fundamental measurement limits β€” quantum-enhanced amplification of small displacements, quantum non-demolition readout of motion β€” with an eye to applications in electric-field metrology and searches for new physics. Positioned against the established body of NV-ensemble quantum sensing work β€” DEER, nanoscale NMR and T1 relaxometry protocols operating at pT/sqrt(Hz) field sensitivity β€” trapped-ion motional sensing is the cleanest available platform for demonstrating the entanglement-enhanced scaling that NV ensembles at pT/sqrt(Hz) approach only in the shot-noise-limited regime. Early-career independent PI within the Quantum Control Laboratory; smaller group, higher autonomy.

Department(s)/lab(s): School of Physics | Wood Diamond Magnetometry Group @ UMelb
Summary:

Wood works on NV centres in physically rotating diamond, a niche he essentially created: by spinning the crystal at tens of kHz he has demonstrated spin-rotation coupling, geometric phases and rotationally-induced pseudo-fields on NV ensembles, and used the rotating frame as a resource for noise-averaging and for gyroscopy. The group also works on conventional bulk NV magnetometry, dynamical decoupling sequence design and nuclear-spin bath engineering. Positioned against the established body of NV-ensemble quantum sensing work β€” DEER, nanoscale NMR and T1 relaxometry protocols operating at pT/sqrt(Hz) field sensitivity β€” his rotating-frame protocols are a direct attempt to extend the DEER/T1-relaxometry toolbox β€” normally applied to static ensembles at pT/sqrt(Hz) β€” into a regime where the sensor itself is in motion, with obvious relevance to inertial sensing and to averaging away static field gradients. Early-career PI, smaller group; a good option for a candidate wanting substantial independence.

Department(s)/lab(s): Physics | 3rd Institute of Physics (Wrachtrup Group) @ Stuttgart
Summary:

Wrachtrup is a founder of NV-centre quantum sensing: single-spin and ensemble magnetometry, nanoscale/single-molecule NMR and ESR, nuclear-spin registers, scanning-probe quantum-materials imaging, and programmable diamond nanosensors for chemistry and biology. His group actively recruits postdocs across NV sensing and quantum technology. In the broader landscape of NV-centre ensemble quantum sensing (DEER, nano-NMR, T1 relaxometry) operating near pT/sqrt(Hz) sensitivity, this work is the reference point, extending DEER/nano-NMR toward single-molecule and cryogenic regimes.

Department(s)/lab(s): Electrical and Computer Engineering | Princeton University Laser Sensing Laboratory (Wysocki Group) @ Princeton
Summary:

Wysocki develops quantum-cascade-laser-based spectroscopic sensing systems, including external-cavity QCLs, dispersion spectroscopy, and mid-IR dual-comb spectrometers, that routinely reach fundamental quantum-noise detection limits for trace-gas sensing; applications span atmospheric/environmental monitoring, drone-based methane leak detection, industrial process control, and human breath-based metabolic/medical diagnostics.

Department(s)/lab(s): Physics – Institute for Quantum Electronics / PSI | Experimental Quantum Engineering Group (Xu) @ ETH Zurich
Summary:

Xu leads the Experimental Quantum Engineering group with a joint ETH–PSI appointment. Research directions: (1) Superconducting circuit quantum sensing β€” using qubits-as-sensors for detecting weak microwave signals beyond standard quantum limits, quantum non-demolition readout of photon fields; (2) Quantum error correction enabled sensing β€” integrating bosonic codes (cat qubits, binomial codes) into sensing protocols; (3) Quantum acoustics β€” coupling superconducting qubits to surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonators for hybrid quantum sensing; (4) Novel quantum hardware at PSI β€” leveraging PSI's infrastructure for cryogenic device fabrication and testing. Connected to the ETH–PSI Quantum Computing Hub.

Department(s)/lab(s): Physics | Yacoby Lab @ Harvard
Summary:

Yacoby's lab develops scanning-probe quantum sensors, most notably scanning single-NV-center magnetometers and SQUID-on-tip probes, to image nanoscale magnetic textures and current flow in quantum materials at cryogenic and millikelvin temperatures. This scanning-probe approach extends the sensitivity and spatial resolution of NV ensemble quantum sensing experiments (DEER, nanoscale NMR, T1 relaxometry), which established pT/√Hz-class magnetometry, down to single-spin, nanometer-scale imaging of individual quantum materials.

Department(s)/lab(s): School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications | Yang Silicon Qubit Systems Group @ UNSW
Summary:

Yang works on the systems-level physics of silicon spin qubits: operating qubits at elevated temperatures (above one kelvin, where cryo-CMOS control electronics can be co-integrated), valley and spin-orbit engineering, and the electrical control of spin qubits without micromagnets. The 'hot qubit' programme in particular is an engineering argument about where the classical/quantum boundary should sit in a real machine. Positioned against the established body of NV-ensemble quantum sensing work β€” DEER, nanoscale NMR and T1 relaxometry protocols operating at pT/sqrt(Hz) field sensitivity β€” raising the operating temperature of a spin sensor while preserving coherence is the same trade a pT/sqrt(Hz) NV ensemble makes implicitly by working at room temperature; Yang's work is the silicon community's attempt to buy back some of that convenience. Borderline inclusion β€” this is quantum computing rather than sensing β€” retained under the inclusive rubric.

Department(s)/lab(s): Physics | Yao Group @ Harvard
Summary:

Yao works at the interface of theoretical and experimental many-body physics and quantum sensing, using dense NV-diamond spin ensembles and Hamiltonian engineering to push magnetometry and nanoscale NMR beyond standard-quantum-limit sensitivities. His work is a direct extension of the original NV ensemble quantum sensing experiments (DEER, nanoscale NMR, T1 relaxometry) that achieved pT/√Hz sensitivity, adding many-body-enhanced protocols and error-correction-assisted sensing on top of that foundation.

Department(s)/lab(s): Physics / LKB | Ultracold Fermi Gases Group (Yefsah/LKB) @ ENS Paris
Summary:

Tarik Yefsah's group at LKB studies strongly interacting ultracold Fermi gases. Research: (1) Fermi gas mixtures β€” quantum simulation of condensed matter phenomena (BCS-BEC crossover, Fermi polaron); (2) quantum gas microscope experiments imaging individual atoms in optical lattices; (3) novel quantum phases in Fermi-Hubbard systems ('fermionic waltz' publication 2026). Relevant to quantum simulation and quantum gas-based sensing.