NX Micro COTS laser system for quantum gravity gradiometry

_The NX Micro COTS laser system for quantum gravity gradiometry_ project brings together a team of academic and industry experts to enhance existing technical capabilities within quantum technologies and accelerate the commercialisation process of Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) sensors. The key deliverable of this project is a state-of-the-art laser system to control the quantum state of a sample of atoms within a quantum gravity sensor. The laser system is based on solid-state laser technology, which shows critical advantages compared to other laser sources. Current solid-state quantum lasers are large and expensive, and whilst they provide a good solution for research purposes, they promise limited scalability and hence are hard to justify in integration and product development projects. Other technologies, such as distributed feedback (DFB) lasers provide a more economical option but they lack the superior performance of a solid-state platform. Our proposal brings diode-pumped solid-state technology much closer to the price point of a DFB laser, while also providing all the advantages existing solid-state lasers offer. Furthermore, we work with Heriot Watt University and Glasgow University to integrate these lasers into a packaged, system-level solution, providing a turn-key product to existing quantum sensor manufacturers, saving costs, space and complexity in their development process. The proposed solution is unique in terms of its functionality and the overall system costs a fraction of existing products. We will validate and test our system in existing gravity gradient map matching capabilities, in collaboration with Delta g.