QSCALE – Enabling Technolo­gies for the Indus­tri­al­iza­tion of NV-Center-Based Sensors

To enable the commer­cial use of quantum sensing, advances in minia­tur­iza­tion and integra­tion are required for success­ful economic deploy­ment. QSCALE specif­i­cally addresses key enabling technolo­gies for NV-center-based sensors, which will play a central role in their indus­trial appli­ca­tion and in increas­ing the scala­bil­ity of this type of sensor. In addition to micro­elec­tronic and photonic integration—as essen­tial tools for minia­tur­iza­tion and improv­ing energy efficiency—the project focuses on issues related to the scalable produc­tion of the base mater­ial and, for the first time, inves­ti­gates the relia­bil­ity of assem­bly and inter­con­nec­tion technolo­gies for quantum sensors.

Scala­bil­ity of sensor technol­ogy through micro­elec­tronic and photonic integration.

The micro­elec­tronic and photonic integra­tion of NV-center-based sensors pursued in the QSCALE project repre­sents one of the key enabling technolo­gies for increas­ing the scala­bil­ity of this sensor technol­ogy. This approach offers signif­i­cant poten­tial for reduc­ing both the size and power consump­tion of the sensors. Combined with QSCALE’s research on the scalable produc­tion of the sensor base mater­ial, as well as targeted inves­ti­ga­tions into the relia­bil­ity of micro­hy­brid assem­bly and inter­con­nec­tion technolo­gies for quantum sensors, the project estab­lishes the scien­tific and techno­log­i­cal founda­tions for the future deploy­ment of NV-center-based sensors. To achieve this, sensors must be produced in moder­ate to high volumes at moder­ate to low costs.