MIT Quantum Sensor Can Detect Electromagnetic Signals of Any Frequency
By David L. Chandler, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 10 July 2022 Scientists at MIT have developed a method to enable such quantum sensors to detect arbitrary frequencies, without losing their ability to measure nanometer-scale features. The new method is described in a paper published in the journal Physical Review X by graduate student Guoqing Wang, professor of nuclear science and engineering and of physics Paola Cappellaro, and four others at MIT and Lincoln Laboratory. The team has already applied for patent protection for the new method. Although quantum sensors can take many forms, at their essence they’re systems in which some particles are in such a delicately balanced state that they are affected by even tiny variations in the fields they are exposed to. These can take the form of neutral atoms, trapped ions, and solid-state spins, and research using such sensors has grown rapidly. For example, physicists use them to investigate exotic states of matter, including so-