A joint project called "Quamapolis", funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) within the framework program "Quantum Technologies – from Fundamentals to Market", has started work. The ambitious goal: to develop a compact vector magnetometer based on quantum effects in diamond within three years. The combination of targeted generation of a reference magnetic field and vector magnetic field measurement allows precise localization and determination of the position of objects, which is essential for the further automation of processes in the context of Industry 4.0, smart home and robotics applications in the field of healthcare and smart agriculture.

The joint project involves members from industry and science, namely Robert Bosch GmbH, Q.ant GmbH, Würth Elektronik GmbH & Co. KG as well as the universities in Stuttgart and Ulm. Other associated project partners include Daimler AG and Bosch Sensortec GmbH.

High-precision integration of micro-optical components on systems from Finetech

During the development of the vector magnetometer, for the first time all components required for the function, such as laser diode, diamond, optical filter, photodetector and a circuit for generating a microwave field, are integrated on a printed circuit board substrate using micro-optical assembly and packaging technology suitable for series production. For the product-oriented validation of the application advantage, an indoor localization system is realized, which achieves resolutions of less than 1 cm using the diamond magnetometer and thus a significantly improved measurement accuracy compared to current solutions.

For the integration of the micro-optical components, Finetech supplies placement and assembly systems with a placement accuracy of better than one micrometer to the project partners and provides application support in the context of photonic integration as well as for prototype construction and benchmarking of the sensors.

Finetech has over 25 years of experience in sub-micron bonding and strong expertise in handling opto and microelectronic components and is looking forward to contributing to the success of this challenging and forward-looking project in quantum sensing by providing its high-precision placement and assembly systems, process modules and application-specific bonding tools.

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