Caltech, Fermilab, and collaborators test quantum sensors for future particle physics experiments

Caltech researchers and collaborators have completed the first lab tests of quantum sensors designed for tomorrow’s high-energy particle colliders, the university announced April 24. The sensors could uncover data on high-energy particles that are smashed together in particle accelerators to produce novel particles unpredicted by the standard model of physics.

The work, under the leadership of Fermilab scientist and Caltech alumnus Cristián Peña, pushes superconducting microwire single-photon detectors (SMSPDs) from quantum-network demos into particle-physics territory. Peña’s team exposed the sensors to beams of protons, electrons and pions at Fermilab’s test facility and reported “high efficiency” along with sharper spatial and timing resolution than traditional detectors, according to a paper in the Journal of Instrumentation.

“In the next 20 to 30 years we’ll see more powerful colliders and need more precise detectors,” said Caltech physicist Maria Spiropulu. “Quantum sensing has to be in the toolbox.”

The multi-institutional research team that used SMSPDs to detect high-energy particles. In the front row (left to right): Cristián Peña, Artur Apresyan, and Si Xie; middle row: Carlos Perez, Christina Wang, and Adi Bornheim; back row: Aram, Matias Barria, Valentina Vega, and Claudio San Martin. [Credit: Cristián Peña, Fermilab]

Researchers from Caltech, Fermilab, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the University of Geneva and Chile’s Federico Santa María Technical University took part. AT&T and the U.S. Department of Energy, which funds Fermilab, rounded out the partnership.

Why it matters

Future colliders will spray millions of particles per second; SMSPDs aim to tag each one in four dimensions: x, y, z and nanoseconds.Better timing could uncover lighter or exotic particles missed by today’s detectors, co-author Si Xie said. SMSPDs share DNA with nanowire sensors already used for quantum networking and deep-space laser comms, but the Fermilab tests mark their debut with charged particles. Peña’s team exposed the sensors… and reported ‘high efficiency’ along with sharper spatial and timing resolution than traditional detectors—achieving 1.15 nanoseconds in timing precision for protons, electrons, and pions, according to the paper published in IOP Science.

What’s next

The group plans additional beam runs and system-level studies; no deployment timeline is set. Still, Peña argues the sensors are on the “critical-path” list for flagship projects such as CERN’s proposed Future Circular Collider and a muon collider concept under study. As collaborator Si Xie noted in the announcement, this work is “just the beginning” for deploying quantum sensing in high-energy physics.

Funding: U.S. DOE, Fermilab, Chile’s ANID and Federico Santa María Technical University.

Citation: Journal of Instrumentation (2025), “High energy particle detection with large area superconducting microwire array.”