Adelaide researchers find a simpler design for quantum magnetic sensors

[RestlessCheetah]

Australian researchers have found a neater way to build some of the most sensitive magnetic sensors in existence. The Quantum Insider reports on work from Adelaide University, published in Physical Review Applied, that simplifies the design of superconducting quantum interference filter arrays

These devices are built from arrays of SQUID loops, superconducting rings that respond to tiny magnetic fields. A known problem is that the arrays struggle to tell when a magnetic field is exactly zero, and existing fixes use hundreds or thousands of loops of different sizes, which reduces sensitivity

The team, led by Associate Professor Giuseppe Tettamanzi of the QuaNTeG group with PhD students Ross Monaghan and Jonathan Marenkovic, kept all the loops the same size. They then swapped some for bare loops without Josephson junctions, creating what they call a synthetic area spread

The approach was confirmed experimentally at very low temperatures, and Tettamanzi said the work shows there is another way. Possible uses include brain imaging, radio receivers and low noise communications. The article gives no sensitivity figures, a patent has been filed, and more testing is needed

Simpler designs are often easier to manufacture, which matters if these sensors are to leave the lab. Medical imaging and communications could both benefit from better magnetic sensing. It is another reminder that quantum sensing is advancing quickly

Could quantum magnetic sensors change brain imaging? And are simpler designs the key to commercial quantum sensors?

Adelaide Researchers Develop Simpler Design for Highly Sensitive Quantum Sensorsthequantuminsider.com