CONE - Compact control systems for quantum technologies

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Quantum technology has the potential to have great impact upon various aspects of our daily lives. Across the UK National Quantum Technology Programme, work is underway to realise benefits to multiple sectors, for example within healthcare, transport, energy, communications and defence. One area within the programme is quantum sensing, where the UK National Quantum Technology Hub in Sensors and Metrology is creating the next generation of high performance sensors and aiming to bring these into everyday applications. These sensors are based upon the use of clouds of atoms as probes where, through the use of laser cooling (winning the Nobel prize in 1997), the atoms can be slowed down sufficiently that they are almost stationary during a measurement. This provides an extremely clean and well controlled sensor, allowing exceptionally precise measurements. For example, modern cold atom based clocks are stable enough that they would not drift by one second during the age of the Universe.The use of cold atoms also presents a challenge, as in order to create such as system requires high precision technology including stable and precise lasers and magnetic fields. This typically results in systems being large and complicated, traditionally filling an entire laboratory. Modern advances have allowed significant improvements in portability and size, but a considerable challenge still remains regarding power and driving electronics. The objective of the CONE project is to create compact and robust electronics for cold atom sensors, and trial their use in a demonstration system. The aim is to realise a 50% reduction in the overall system size, through both miniaturisation and better integration of the electronics. CONE aims to transfer knowledge to Red Wave Laboratories in order to enable them to fill an important gap within the UK quantum technology supply chain, enabling them to provide robust electronics solutions and potentially future integrated systems.