Grant: Alliance Grants

Quantum sensors are of critical importance to society. As the most mature quantum technology, they are currently used by industry, government, and academia, with applications in healthcare, natural resource exploration, defence, weather monitoring, and navigation. This proposal focuses on the development of a new physical platform, consisting of levitated microscopic objects coupled to superconducting quantum devices. Control of levitated micrometer-size particles is a rapidly developing area of fundamental research. The coupling to superconducting devices introduced through this work could enable new methods to control and measure the state of levitated objects, which is important for both fundamental research and numerous applications. The main applications of the new platform explored in this proposal are gravimetry and detection of electron and nuclear spins. This collaboration between the University of Waterloo, an organization with a strong track record in research on superconducting quantum systems, and Defence Research and Development Canada, a leader in the development and adoption of quantum sensors, is expected to bring a strategic advantage in defence applications of gravimetry and the development of other quantum sensors based on superconducting devices. This project leverages Canada's investment in quantum technology and contributes to the field of quantum sensing and to the development of quantum computing with superconducting devices, stimulating further growth in these rapidly growing fields.