QuantX Labs makes first optical clock sale

Timing technology company QuantX Labs has announced the landmark first sales of its state-of-the-art optical atomic clocks.

The company recently signed two contracts with the Department of Defence totalling over $2.7 million.

Supporting Australian Defence Force requirements, QuantX will deliver a mobile precision timing test bed for Defence Systems to Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) at Edinburgh in Adelaide.

The testbed, due for delivery in early 2025, can be used to test and evaluate sensors, communication, and navigation systems to determine operational resilience in a GPS-degraded scenario.

QuantX will also deliver optical atomic clocks under AUKUS Pillar II by the end of 2024, enabling AUKUS partners to develop advanced precision navigation and timing capabilities.

Initial testing of these first article optical clocks is showing almost an order of magnitude improvement on the performance of the current microwave atomic clocks used in today’s Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS).

The timing test bed is the second product that QuantX Labs has successfully translated out of IPAS, with this proven translation pathway also responsible for their flagship product, the Cryoclock, which delivers the world’s most pure output signals for use in Radar.

The Cryoclock is on a path for inclusion into Australia’s Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN) over the next few years.

State-of-the-art portable optical atomic clocks are the culmination of over seven years of research and development, initially at the Institute of Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS) at The University of Adelaide.

The Managing Director and Co-Founder of QuantX Labs Professor Andre Luiten said: “Here we see leading-edge research translated into a globally-leading product through a deep and motivated collaboration between university researchers and industry.

“Sadly, while Australia is at the forefront of global research, it is a laggard when it comes to translating that capability into industry impact.

“Here we have found the magic recipe to drive this critical need, which is creating jobs, economic wealth and an improved wellbeing of our society.”

Quantx is further developing its optical clock technology, with a clock satellite payload undergoing rigorous space-environment testing under the Australian Space Agency’s Moon to Mars programme and is scheduled to be launched in 2025.

Picture: QuantX engineer at work