QUMICRO

About

Partners

QuMicro is a collaborative European research initiative bringing together leading academic and industrial experts in quantum technologies and microelectronics:

  1. Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (IMEC) — Belgium
  2. Thales — France
  3. Budapesti Műszaki és Gazdaságtudományi Egyetem — Hungary
  4. Universität Ulm — Germany
  5. Universität Wien — Austria
  6. Austrian Academy of Sciences — Austria

Objectives

QuMicro aims to pioneer a new paradigm in microwave (MW) field sensing by exploiting the advantages of quantum technologies—exceptional sensitivity, spectral resolution, miniaturisation, and integrability.
While most current quantum sensors rely on quantum coherence, QuMicro explores entanglement-based sensing principles, extending beyond the limits of conventional approaches.

The project targets four major objectives:

  1. Demonstrate the quantum heterodyne measurement principle with high fidelity.
  2. Develop application-ready quantum microwave detection protocols suitable for commercial deployment.
  3. Realise a fully self-contained quantum heterodyne microwave detector system, integrating hardware and control.
  4. Establish an entanglement-based sensing methodology, leveraging quantum phase transitions for enhanced performance.

To achieve these goals, QuMicro will:

  • Develop diamond materials optimised for both optical and electrical detection of spin states.
  • Design the integrated quantum sensing chip architecture.
  • Create and test quantum sensing algorithms to push sensitivity, dynamic range, and frequency resolution to their limits in the MW regime.
  • Advance the theoretical framework of entanglement-based sensing, aiming for methodologies approaching the Heisenberg limit, validated on model NV spin systems.

Beyond research, QuMicro engages with the quantum and industrial communities through targeted dissemination, and contributes to the training of next-generation physicists, engineers, and quantum technologists.

Concept & Approach

The QuMicro concept builds on the exceptional quantum properties of the negatively charged nitrogen–vacancy (NV⁻) centre embedded in ultrapure diamond crystals.

Among all solid-state spin systems, the NV centre stands out for its maturity and performance. It offers:

  • Record spin coherence times (~3 ms at room temperature)
  • High stability and robustness
  • Compatibility with optical and microwave interrogation
  • Scalability and integrability for practical applications

These unique advantages make the NV⁻ centre the ideal platform for developing next-generation MW quantum sensors, and form the foundation of the QuMicro vision.

Relation to Previous Projects

QuMicro builds directly on the achievements of earlier EU-funded initiatives, including:

These projects established key principles in quantum sensing using diamond materials.
QuMicro advances this groundwork by focusing on microwave spectral analysis and introducing entanglement-enhanced sensing concepts, pushing quantum sensing toward new performance frontiers.