Adelaide Researchers Develop Simpler Design for Highly Sensitive Quantum Sensors

Insider Brief

• Adelaide University researchers developed and experimentally demonstrated a superconducting sensor design that identifies zero magnetic field while preserving conditions needed for maximum sensitivity.
• The approach strategically replaces some SQUID loops with bare superconducting loops, allowing equal-sized loops to behave like an array containing different loop sizes.
• The design could simplify manufacturing and support applications in brain imaging, communications and electromagnetic sensing, though further testing is needed before commercialization.

PRESS RELEASE — Adelaide University quantum engineers have found a new way to improve some of the world’s most sensitive sensors of electromagnetic fields, a breakthrough that could help advance brain imaging, medical diagnostics, communications technology and next-generation quantum devices.

The research, published today in Physical Review Applied, is led by the University’s Quantum and Nano Technology Group (QuaNTeG) and solves a long-standing problem that has limited the performance of superconducting quantum interference devices, known as SQUIDs.

SQUIDs are among the most sensitive magnetic field detectors ever created. They are used in specialised applications including brain imaging systems, scientific instruments and advanced radio-frequency sensors. However, while they can detect incredibly small changes in magnetic fields, they have struggled to accurately identify when a magnetic field is exactly zero.