A cutting-edge Australian company, Deteqt, has made a groundbreaking breakthrough in the field of quantum technology. The company has successfully raised A$5 million ($3.6 million) in seed funding, which will be used to further develop its innovative chip-scale quantum magnetometer technology. This technology has the potential to transform navigation and sensing applications across various industries, including defence, marine, and subsea exploration.
Deteqt's breakthrough is a result of its unique approach to combining diamond crystals with custom semiconductor chips. The resulting sensor is incredibly sensitive and compact enough to be embedded in drones, autonomous vehicles, and robots. This technology has the potential to enable GPS-denied navigation for defence platforms, where jamming in contested environments has created urgent demands for alternative positioning technology.
The company's CEO and co-founder, Dr Jim Rabeau, explains that the diamond crystal used in Deteqt's sensor contains atomic-scale quantum defects that respond to magnetic fields. When illuminated with laser light, these defects emit an optical signal that changes depending on the surrounding magnetic environment, allowing for precise measurement of magnetic fields.
Rabeau highlights the significance of magnetic fields in various applications, including MRI, mineral exploration, and brain imaging. However, existing systems are often too large and expensive to deploy beyond controlled environments. Deteqt's chip-scale integration changes this entirely, enabling compact and scalable manufacturing.
The company is currently focusing on developing its technology for GPS-denied navigation, particularly in marine and subsea environments. This includes applications such as navigation and magnetic anomaly detection, as well as detecting large metallic objects like submarines, pipelines, and unexploded ordnance.
Deteqt's lead application is also exploring the use of compact quantum magnetometers in distributed sensing networks across marine platforms. The company aims to develop robust and reliable systems that can operate in challenging environments with high levels of temperature stability and noise resistance.
The company has already completed a field test in an unshielded environment above an active rail corridor, successfully detecting magnetic signatures from passing trains. These tests are helping guide the next stage of engineering and system development for the platform.
Magnetic interference is a significant challenge for any magnetic sensing system, but Deteqt's chip-scale approach enables compact sensor arrays that can help characterise background magnetic effects from the host environment.
As the company moves forward with its technology, it has the potential to revolutionize navigation and sensing applications across various industries. The integration of compact quantum sensors into these technologies could lead to significant improvements in accuracy, reliability, and efficiency.
The integration of compact quantum sensors into various industries has the potential to revolutionize navigation and sensing technologies.
