ColdQuanta won the Best of Sensors Award in the Instrumentation & Test category for its Maxwell Quantum RF Sensor Platform last month at the Sensors Converge 2022 Conference and Expo. Showcasing 14 categories, the awards were presented by Sensors Converge and Fierce Electronics for technologies that transformed the sensors industry and set a new bar.
ColdQuanta's Maxwell, a Quantum RF Sensor Platform, is an advanced RF sensor based on quantum technology. The Maxwell's quantum technology uses atoms to differentiate between incident RF fields. It has a fixed form factor that is independent of the RF frequency or wavelength being measured.
"Quantum RF sensors hold many advantages over classic antenna-based receivers, and are a transformational technology for military communications, radar, and electronic warfare," said Chester Kennedy, president of research and security solutions at ColdQuanta. "In addition, these sensors offer the potential to transform commercial communications through significant increases in spectrum availability with improved performance characteristics across the entire range. The quantum ecosystem is experiencing many technological leaps, and we are proud to have our ground-breaking work recognized for its contribution to the industry."
In contrast to classical antenna or electronics-based receivers, ColdQuanta's RF sensors leverage quantum advantages. In conjunction with wavelength-independent form factors and waveform-agnostic signal processing, ultrawideband coverage has the potential to revolutionize existing platforms by integrating various systems into a single device. In the presence of quantum noise, receiver noise figures are significantly lower than those for classical systems due to the inherent limitations of quantum noise. The physics package consists of an integrated low-dielectric, robust glass cell that opens up a variety of integration possibilities that go beyond classical platforms.
The Maxwell Quantum RF Sensor Platform has RF field sensitivity of <10nV/cm/√Hz approaching thermal noise level validated and tested at SHF band with a spectral resolution of < 1Hz. RF detection in the Maxwell differs from the methods used in traditional RF receivers. It uses a spectroscopy-based method that implements lasers to excite various species of atoms optically into quantized states.
As a result of this method, the fundamental device limitations are far below the thermal noise floor. With simple control of the laser frequency, the sensor can cover a wide spectrum range from DC to daylight with its independent wavelength form factor. The quantum sensors directly relate to Planck's constant and show many potential applications in both metrology calibration and SI-traceable systems.
ColdQuanta is a global technology company tasked with solving difficult problems using quantum technology. The company uses quantum mechanics to create and integrate quantum networks, sensors, and computers. With its leading-edge quantum products, ColdQuanta enables "quantum everywhere." ColdQuanta was founded in 2007 and grew from decades of research in atomic physics and work at JILA and intellectual property licensed through the University of Colorado and the University of Wisconsin.
For more information on the 2022 Best of Sensors Awards and to see a complete list of the winners from all 14 categories, check out this article.