Infleqtion, Honeywell and UCSB put a laser stabiliser on a chip for handheld quantum sensors

[FocalLeopard]

Infleqtion, Honeywell Aerospace and UC Santa Barbara have built a prototype integrated optical cavity that could help shrink quantum sensors down to handheld size, The Quantum Insider reports. Optical cavities keep lasers stable in quantum computers, clocks and sensors. Until now, they have generally been large, fragile tabletop instruments. Putting one on a chip removes one of the biggest obstacles to making quantum devices portable

The prototype is made on a silicon nitride chip at Honeywell Aerospace's photonics foundry, using a standard semiconductor process. That means it can be produced at scale in existing commercial plants. The near term uses named are precision navigation and atomic timing for data centres and mobile phone masts, both of which need highly stable references

Infleqtion engineers co-designed the device with UCSB's group led by Distinguished Professor Daniel Blumenthal, which has spent more than a decade moving cold atom experiments from optical tables onto chips. Infleqtion acquired SiNoptiq, a startup founded by Blumenthal, in 2024. Infleqtion chief technology officer Pranav Gokhale said: "Quantum technology has incredible potential, but realizing that potential means making these systems smaller."

Blumenthal said that because it can be made at commercial foundries, the technology has a real path to widespread deployment. It links nicely to the Stuttgart room temperature Rydberg work and the portable optical clock project at Columbia that we have discussed recently. Quantum sensing keeps edging closer to real products, and much of the progress comes from shrinking and simplifying the supporting hardware

How long before quantum sensors are small enough to carry around? And would GPS free navigation be the killer application?

Infleqtion, Honeywell and UCSB Develop Chip-Scale Optical Cavitythequantuminsider.com