Quantum sensing as “hidden champion“

On October 26, 2022, the QBN Meeting on Quantum Sensing was held at Fraunhofer IAF. Together with the Quantum Business Network, the Fraunhofer institute hosted a meeting in Freiburg. Numerous presentations by speakers, some of them international, offered insights into the latest developments and leading technologies in the field of quantum sensing. Representatives of start-ups, companies, universities and research institutions took the opportunity to exchange ideas and to visit the laboratories at Fraunhofer IAF.

Quantum sensors on the verge of a breakthrough

“Quantum sensing is considered as the hidden champion among quantum technologies, “ explained Dr. Peter Knittel, scientist at Fraunhofer IAF, right at the beginning of the event. While many different areas of quantum technology are currently seeing major developments, quantum sensing is already ahead of the curve: Building on the research findings of recent decades, major technological advances are expected in the coming years.

According to current forecasts, the market for quantum sensing applications is expected to grow steadily in the current decade. This is mainly due to three key advantages: First, the high resolution of quantum sensors plays an outstandingly important role for micro- and nanoelectronics, and second, the high precision of the technology is crucial in the fields of navigation and autonomous driving. The fact that quantum sensors are capable of delivering highly accurate results in a minimally invasive manner also paves new paths in medicine and biotechnology.

Dr. Peter Knittel concluded his presentation with an overview of the research activities in the field of diamond-based quantum sensing at Fraunhofer IAF. Dr. Xavier Vidal, also scientist at Fraunhofer IAF, had the opportunity to present his research topic: Magnetic imaging by widefield microscopy. This technology is based on a non-scanning principle and offers very high spatial resolution with a short measurement time. Other program contributions were provided by representatives of Element Six, Tokyo Institute of Technology, TNO, Diatope, Quantum Diamonds, attocube systems, NVision, QZabre, Fraunhofer IWM and Quantum Diamond Technologies Inc.

QBN—the Quantum Business Network

QBN offers developers and users of quantum technologies an opportunity for contact and information exchange as well as the presentation of new technologies in the network. QBN's ecosystem includes start-ups, companies, research institutions and universities from the DACH region from the fields of quantum computing, simulation, communication and sensing as well as their application areas. The goal is to promote industrial networking, collaboration and technology transfer.