Working with industry Sensors can be found in our everyday lives, from smart phones and cars to industrial applications in manufacturing, engineering and imaging. Led by the University of Birmingham, the Quantum Technology Hub for Sensors and Metrology brings together expertise in physics and engineering from the Universities of Birmingham, Glasgow, Nottingham, Southampton, Strathclyde and Sussex with over 70 industry partners. The Hub’s teams are working to transform laboratory-based research into technology. They are developing smaller, cheaper, more accurate and energy efficient components and systems to build and sustain a supply chain which will have a potentially transformative impact across business and society as a whole. The Hub’s work will dramatically improve the accuracy of measuring time, frequency, rotation, magnetic fields and gravity. The research will have a tangible impact across a wide range of fields, including: electronic stock trading; GPS navigation; providing a non-invasive way of measuring brain activity to further research into dementia; facilitating the mapping of pipework and cabling under the road surface before digging takes place, thereby reducing disruption and traffic delays.
www.quantumsensors.org
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Quantum Technology Hub
What are Quantum Technologies? Quantum theory is one of the most significant scientific breakthroughs of the 20th century. It has led to the development of some of the most widely used technologies such as the transistor and the laser which are now commonplace. A new generation of quantum technologies is now enabling and driving a new range of previously impossible devices and systems to solve currently intractable problems. As our technical ability increases, so too does our ability to convert this knowledge into practical applications. Such advances have now reached the stage where commercialisation is not only possible, but an opportunity that should not be ignored.
Gravity Gravity, or the gravitational field, is directly affected by mass. Any changes in mass causes variations in the gravitational field. The impact of any change is extremely small and so detecting it can be challenging. Using quantum technologies, academics are improving signal detection sensitivity and making compact instruments that are resistant to noise, drift and constant recalibration. There are significant benefits to the UK economy, for both companies that use gravity sensors and those in the supply chain that build them. Developments in this area will drive efficiency, innovation and show real economic benefits.
Potential applications: Detection of sinkholes Location and assessment
of infrastructure (pipes, water) Detecting cavities before subsidence happens Surveying for disused mineshafts Mineral exploration and extraction Water resource management and planning Satellite climate change monitoring Earth observation Flood prevention planning Navigation Archaeology Border control and security
Advantages of using cold atom gravity sensors: Drift-free and possess zero bias Ultimate precision Absolute measurement in
continuous use
Suppress environmental noise No mechanical wear Low maintenance Size and cost-scaling potential
Clocks There is an increasing demand for more accurate and precise clocks, either to improve existing applications, or enable new ones. The Hub is researching the sensitivity of atomic clocks, increasing their accuracy to being better than one second over the age of the universe. A range of portable and robust clocks are being made for different markets using holographic technology and complex laser systems. These methods will improve the accuracy, long-term stability, volume and power consumption.
These range from low cost, compact and robust clocks to ones that comply with international standards. In addition to fundamental research, they will have applications in navigation, communications and banking.
Potential applications: Next generation satellite navigation High-speed internet Deep space communication and
navigation Time-stamping of financial transactions Long-baseline interferometry
in astronomy Resilient timing for the smart grid
Advantages of using cold atom clocks: Drift-free and dependable Portable Ultimate accuracy and precision No mechanical wear Low maintenance Size and cost-scaling potential
Quantum Technology Hub
The Hub is focusing on five prototyping areas: Gravity Clocks Magnetic Rotation Imaging
Magnetic Magnetic fields surround us. Changes in current generate changes in the local magnetic field, which, with the right sensors, can be detected and measured. Increasingly sensitive magnetic field detectors can detect smaller levels of electrical charge flow at ever greater distances. Using quantum technologies enables a dramatic improvement in both the magnetic sensor sensitivity, and reduces the physical size and cost of these improved sensors. This will expand and enhance the range of applications for magnetic field sensors, offering significant capability improvements in established fields of application as well
as broadening the potential applications for magnetic sensors.
Potential applications:
Advantages of using magnetic quantum sensors:
Detecting charge flows in micro- and
Previously unobtainable levels
nano-electronics Imaging intra- and inter-cellular activity in medicine and biochemistry Non-invasive brain activity monitoring in medicine and psychology Improved understanding of novel materials and nano-engineered structures Geo-magnetic survey A range of security applications
of sensitivity and resolution Decreased size and cost over
current devices Different types of sensor
technology allows optimisation of sensors for task Potential for rapid maturation of Optically Pumped Magnetometer technology Clear development path for cold atom magnetometry sensors
Rotation Quantum technologies will allow extremely sensitive, bias-free rotation sensors for inertial navigation, stabilisation and measurement. Free atoms are ideal test masses for inertial sensing. Identical and perfectly isolated, they provide inertial references that can be measured with exquisite precision, using quantum enhancements for further improvements in sensitivity. Matterwave rotation sensors perform absolute, drift-free measurements of rotation rates and can be tailored for different sensitivities, read-out rates and dynamic ranges.
Potential applications: Inertial navigation Roll stabilisation True north determination Avionic sensors Attitude control Image stabilisation Spacecraft guidance Gun laying UAV control Survey systems Virtual reality
Advantages to using cold atom rotation sensors include: Drift-free and possess
zero bias
High sensitivity Absolute measurement
in continuous use
No mechanical wear No lock-in or toppling Miniaturisation potential
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Quantum Technology Hub
Imaging Quantum Imaging can be useful in any application or sensor based on the measurement of light. Academics are widening the range of use of quantum light for imaging applications, reducing the inherent graininess of images caused by the discrete nature of light. This will provide new opportunities in areas such as defence and environmental monitoring. It could also have applications for medical imaging devices within ten years once the regulatory approval is acquired.
Potential applications: Tracking of particles (such as with
optical tweezers or micro-rheology) Optical data storage Beam positioning (such as atomic force
microscopy) Enhanced magnetometry Amplification of faint optical signals Multichannel quantum communications
Contact us The Quantum Technology Hub for Sensors and Metrology is working with commercial partners varying in size from across a range of sectors. These include oil and gas exploration, civil engineering, mineral excavation, railway networks, medical and many others. Collaboration and funding opportunities are available for you. If you would like to discuss this in more detail, please contact: Max Turner Partnership and Business Engagement Manager Quantum Technology Hub for Sensors and Metrology E: M.J.Turner@bham.ac.uk T: +44 (0)121 414 8283 Learn more about the Quantum Technology Hub for Sensors and Metrology on the website:
www.quantumsensors.org
Advantages of using quantum imaging: Compact and portable Interact easily with atomic gases,
such as with magnetometry Compatible with portable laser
sources Easily configurable
UK National Quantum Technologies Programme The Quantum Technology Hub for Sensors and Metrology is one of four hubs which make up the UK National Quantum Technologies Programme. It is creating a coherent quantum technology community that gives the UK a world-leading position in the emerging multi-billion pound quantum technology markets. The Hub’s work will substantially enhance the value of some of the biggest UK-based industries. The UK National Quantum Technologies Programme is delivered by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Innovate UK, Department for Business Innovation & Skills (BIS), National Physical Laboratory (NPL), Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (dstl) and the Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN).