- Capability group
- Quantum Technologies
- Domain
- Critical Technology · Hard Power
- Identifier
- factbase.org/cap/VMXVW59Y0T
- Reference
- Quantum sensor Wikipedia
Papers
9.3k
2020–2024
Paper growth
+104%
2020–24 on 2015–19
Patent families
1.6k
2020–2024
Filed abroad
41%
families in more than one office
In the framework
What the capability covers and what it leaves to others, and the indicators it will be measured by.
Bounds
Covers the quantum sensing frontier; its fielded applications read under Sensing, Timing & Navigation and the defence capabilities they serve, classified by technology here and by employment there.
Lineage
Carried from v0.0 (formerly Quantum sensors) with the same identifier; broadened to metrology and recast from device definition to measurement capacity.
Indicators
- research publication share in quantum sensingResearch
- quantum sensing patent familiesPatents
Research
Papers classified to the capability, by year and by the nation of their authors' institutions, 2020–2024. Read from the v0.0 research topic Quantum sensors.
Papers by year
The five leading nations, papers by year
Share of papers, 2020–2024
Of papers with a known author nation; 48% have none and are left out.
- 1United States18.8%1,097 papers
- 2China18.6%1,085 papers
- 3Germany7.9%461 papers
- 4United Kingdom5.9%346 papers
- 5France4.6%270 papers
- 6Japan4.3%254 papers
- 7Italy4.1%240 papers
- 8Russia3.0%173 papers
- 9India2.9%170 papers
- 10Australia2.6%152 papers
Leading institutions, 2020–2024
By fractional count: each paper divided among its authors' institutions.
- 1National Institute of Standards and Technology67fractional papers
- 2Chinese Academy of Sciences57fractional papers
- 3University of Science and Technology of China54fractional papers
- 4Peking University50fractional papers
- 5Leibniz University Hannover46fractional papers
- 6Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt35fractional papers
- 7University of Colorado Boulder33fractional papers
- 8Massachusetts Institute of Technology29fractional papers
- 9Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique29fractional papers
- 10California Institute of Technology27fractional papers
Patents
Patent families by the nation of origin of their applicants and their earliest priority year, from the CPC and IPC classes the capability is read from. 2025 onwards is incomplete: families are published 18 months after priority.
Families by priority year
The five leading origins, families by year
876 applicants filed here in 2015–2024; the five largest held 12% of families (HHI 59 of 10,000: unconcentrated).
Share of families by origin, 2020–2024
- 1China40.8%653 families
- 2United States17.8%285 families
- 3Germany15.3%245 families
- 4Japan12.2%195 families
- 5South Korea2.2%35 families
- 6United Kingdom2.1%34 families
- 7France1.8%29 families
- 8Switzerland1.4%23 families
- 9Israel1.2%20 families
- 10Canada0.9%14 families
Applicants filing most internationally, 2015–2024
Families filed in more than one office, by applicant as the offices name them.
- 1SEIKO EPSON CORP77international families
- 2BOSCH GMBH ROBERT54international families
- 3UNIV KYOTO37international families
- 4NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORP34international families
- 5HONEYWELL INT INC31international families
- 6TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INC26international families
- 7COMMISSARIAT ENERGIE ATOMIQUE25international families
- 8HAMAMATSU PHOTONICS KK24international families
- 9RICOH CO LTD24international families
- 10ROBERT BOSCH CO LTD21international families
Classification read
- G01R33/035 Superconducting magnetometers (SQUIDs) · 4.6k documents
- G01R33/26 Optically pumped magnetometers · 3.7k documents
- G01R33/323 Optically detected magnetic resonance, e.g. diamond defect sensors · 1.6k documents
- G01C19/60 Atomic-spin and magnetic-resonance gyroscopes · 896 documents
- G04F5/14 Atomic clocks · 4.7k documents
- H03L7/26 Atomic frequency standards · 3.4k documents
Shares inventions with
Capabilities whose classes the same families also fall in, by overlap (Jaccard).
- Precision Timing & Atomic Clocks388 families · 0.108
- Quantum Computing142 families · 0.020
- Resilient Positioning & Navigation109 families · 0.012
- Quantum Communication15 families · 0.005
- Superconducting, Magnetic & Photonic Materials43 families · 0.003
Companies
50 companies in this capability, across 6 regions. The leading 12:
- 1HoneywellHoneywell Aerospace develops cold-atom and quantum inertial sensors for GPS-denied navigation and holds major international patent filings in atomic sensing, and it is also the majority owner of Quantinuum.Manufacture
- 2Microchip TechnologyMicrochip's frequency and time systems unit is the leading maker of commercial chip-scale atomic clocks (CSAC), cesium beam standards and hydrogen masers used in defence, telecoms and metrology.Manufacture
- 3Northrop GrummanNorthrop Grumman developed the nuclear magnetic resonance gyroscope and other atomic inertial sensors, and is among the top international patent applicants in quantum sensing.Integration
- 4SafranSafran's Orolia business, including Spectratime, which it acquired in 2022, makes rubidium and passive hydrogen maser atomic clocks for Galileo and resilient timing systems.Manufacture
- 5Exail TechnologiesExail, which absorbed Muquans, sells the Absolute Quantum Gravimeter and cold-atom quantum inertial sensors, the first commercial cold-atom gravimetry products.Manufacture
- 6InfleqtionInfleqtion, formerly ColdQuanta, builds neutral-atom optical clocks (Tiqker), quantum RF receivers and inertial sensors, and listed on the NYSE in February 2026.Manufacture
- 7Robert BoschBosch Quantum Sensing develops NV-diamond magnetometers and gyroscopes for automotive, medical and navigation use, and Bosch is the second-largest international patent applicant in this capability.Design
- 8IonQ (incl. ID Quantique)IonQ acquired Vector Atomic in 2025, bringing in its compact optical atomic clocks and atom-interferometer sensors that have been flown and fielded for US defence programmes.Manufacture
- 9Q-CTRLQ-CTRL's Ironstone Opal quantum magnetic navigation system has been field-validated in air, land and sea trials as a GPS alternative, and the company is also developing quantum gravimetry.Software & services
- 10Hamamatsu PhotonicsHamamatsu supplies photodetectors, lasers and optically pumped magnetometer components for quantum sensing, owns NKT Photonics, and is a leading Japanese patent applicant in the field.Equipment & materials
- 11Seiko EpsonEpson is the largest international patent applicant in this capability, with filings on atomic oscillators, quantum interference devices and magnetometers built on its timing-device business.Design
- 12Quantum DesignQuantum Design's SQUID-based MPMS magnetometers and PPMS platforms are standard instruments for quantum-limited magnetic metrology in materials laboratories worldwide.Equipment & materials