Research Areas - (254) Quantum Sensing

Full path: Physics > Quantum Sensing

Department(s)/lab(s): Chemistry – Photon Science Institute / National EPR Facility | Bowen Group (Molecular Spin Qubits and EPR) @ Manchester
Summary:

Bowen leads the CQSE 'Spins and Qubits' theme at Manchester, focusing on organometallic molecular spin qubits for quantum sensing and computing. Research directions: (1) Organometallic La(II) and other rare-earth molecular qudits β€” designing molecules with multiple accessible spin states (qudits) for encoding quantum information and sensing; (2) Pulsed EPR characterization β€” Hahn echo, ESEEM, ENDOR at X/W/Q-band to measure coherence times and hyperfine couplings; (3) Integration of molecular qubits into devices β€” surface deposition and nanoscale addressing; (4) Multi-spin sensing β€” using exchange-coupled spin pairs as differential sensors of magnetic field gradients. Closely collaborates with Tuna and Winpenny.

Techniques:
Department(s)/lab(s): Applied Physics | BΓΈttcher Lab @ Stanford
Summary:

BΓΈttcher builds hybrid superconductor-semiconductor (Al/InAs) devices and develops new circuit-QED-based quantum sensing tools to probe emergent phases -- unconventional pairing, topological superconductivity -- in 2D and mesoscopic quantum materials that are difficult to access with conventional transport measurements.

Department(s)/lab(s): Physics – Institute of Physics (IPHYS) | Brantut Lab (Ultracold Fermi Gases) @ EPFL
Summary:

Brantut's lab studies quantum transport in ultracold Fermi gases, using them as quantum simulators for nanoscale solid-state devices. Research directions: (1) Mesoscopic quantum transport β€” fermionic cold atoms transported through quantum point contacts, studying conductance quantization, shot noise, and thermoelectric effects in atomic-scale channels; (2) Fermionic superfluidity in confined geometries β€” observing and probing pairing in constrictions; (3) Dissipation and open quantum systems β€” controlled introduction of loss to study non-Hermitian quantum physics; (4) Quantum thermometry in ultracold systems β€” using transport signatures as precision thermometers. Analogous to quantum Hall measurements and nanoelectronics in an ultra-clean platform.

Department(s)/lab(s): Physics / Niels Bohr Institute | Copenhagen Center for Biomedical Quantum Sensing (CBQS) @ UCPH
Summary:

Tulio Brito Brasil focuses on multimode quantum optics, squeezed and entangled states of light, and their application for quantum sensing and communication. Research: (1) generation of two-colour high-purity EPR photonic states; (2) squeezed light for quantum noise reduction in measurement; (3) continuous variable quantum optics protocols for networks. Recently joined QUANTOP at NBI.

Department(s)/lab(s): Physics & Astronomy – Condensed Matter & Materials Physics | Breeze Lab (Solid-State Maser Quantum Sensing) @ UCL
Summary:

Breeze is a senior research fellow at UCL working on room-temperature solid-state masers. Research directions: (1) Pentacene maser β€” first demonstration of a room-temperature, continuous-wave solid-state maser (Science 2018) using photoexcited triplet-state pentacene in p-terphenyl crystal; achieving amplification with noise temperature near 1 K; (2) Diamond NV maser β€” developing NV-center-based maser for ultra-low-noise microwave amplification at room temperature, relevant to quantum sensing readout chains; (3) Maser applications β€” quantum-limited amplification for dark matter searches, MRI signal amplification, and quantum communication repeaters; (4) Spin dynamics β€” understanding triplet-state dynamics in organic crystals for spin polarization control. Strong relevance to quantum-limited microwave sensing.

Department(s)/lab(s): Physics | LuMIn - Lasers, Atomic & Quantum Optics (Bretenaker/Goldfarb) @ ENSPS
Summary:

Bretenaker (former LuMIn director) works on laser physics and quantum optics: sub-shot-noise sensing with phase-sensitive-amplifier-generated entangled beams, spin-noise spectroscopy in atomic vapours, EIT slow light, and quantum-limited passive resonant (fiber/bulk) gyroscopes with Thales. In the broader landscape of NV-centre ensemble quantum sensing (DEER, nano-NMR, T1 relaxometry) operating near pT/sqrt(Hz) sensitivity, this work represents the fundamental-light and quantum-limited-rotation-sensing side.

Department(s)/lab(s): Physics – Laboratoire Kastler Brossel (ENS / CollΓ¨ge de France site) | Cavity QED / Circular Rydberg Atom Group (Brune/Raimond, LKB at CollΓ¨ge de France) @ Sorbonne
Summary:

Brune leads the Circular Rydberg Atom / Cavity QED group at LKB (Collège de France site), continuing the work of Serge Haroche (Nobel 2012). Note: Brune is employed by ENS, not Sorbonne Université; postdoc contracts are typically ENS/CNRS. Research directions: (1) Circular Rydberg atoms — atoms in extremely high principal quantum number states (n~50) with extremely long radiative lifetimes (~30 ms) and large dipole moments; (2) Cavity QED quantum sensing — single circular atoms probe the microwave field in a superconducting cavity photon-by-photon via quantum non-demolition measurement; (3) Quantum state engineering — generating Fock states, Schrâdinger cat states, and entangled atom-field states in the cavity; (4) Tests of quantum complementarity — observing decoherence of mesoscopic superpositions in real time as a probe of quantum-to-classical transition. The 'quantum radio receiver' using single atoms to sense individual microwave photons is a landmark quantum sensing demonstration.

Department(s)/lab(s): Physics – Particle Physics Group | AION Sr Atom Interferometry Lab (Buchmueller) @ Imperial
Summary:

Buchmueller is the lead PI of the AION consortium (~Β£10M funded by UKRI/STFC), leading Imperial's ultracold strontium lab developing single-photon large-momentum-transfer atom interferometry on the Sr clock transition. Key achievements: prototype Sr differential atom interferometer operating at the Standard Quantum Limit with laser noise rejection demonstrated (arXiv 2504.09158, Apr 2025); AION-10 technical design report published (Aug 2025). Buchmueller also leads the AEDGE space mission concept for the European Space Agency, seeking to deploy a km-scale Sr atom interferometer in space for dark matter and mid-frequency gravitational wave detection. Deeply involved in MAGIS-100 partnership (Fermilab) and Cold Atoms in Space community building with 130+ proponents. Active in CMS Collaboration at CERN.

Department(s)/lab(s): Physics | Budker Group @ UCB
Summary:

Budker is a pioneer of optically pumped atomic magnetometry, having developed SERF and other high-sensitivity vapor-cell magnetometers used across fundamental-symmetry tests, the GNOME global magnetometer network searching for exotic physics, and the CASPEr NMR-based search for axion dark matter. This body of work sits alongside, and directly informs, the field of NV-diamond ensemble sensing (DEER, NMR, T1 relaxometry) that has reached pT/sqrt(Hz)-class sensitivities, since Budker's atomic-vapor techniques set many of the benchmark protocols that solid-state spin sensors now aim to match or exceed.

Department(s)/lab(s): Applied Physics | Byer Group @ Stanford
Summary:

Byer's long-running program in nonlinear optics and laser physics has produced key technologies for precision measurement, including low-noise laser sources, optical materials, and interferometric techniques that underpin gravitational-wave detectors and frequency metrology.