October 27, 2026 -- These bare loops change how magnetic signals move through the circuit, creating what the researchers call a "synthetic area spread". The result is that the sensor behaves as though it contains many differently sized loops, without needing them.

Lead researcher Associate Professor Giuseppe Tettamanzi, from Adelaide University’s School of Chemical Engineering, said the discovery could help unlock the full potential of quantum sensing technologies.

"For decades, scientists have known how to make these devices identify an absolute magnetic field but doing so required design compromises that reduced their performance," Associate Professor Tettamanzi said.

"Our work shows there is another way. By introducing carefully positioned bare loops, we can achieve the same result while preserving the conditions needed for maximum sensitivity."

The researchers developed the theory behind the approach and then confirmed the effect experimentally using fabricated superconducting circuits operating at very low temperatures. The results showed the new design behaved exactly as predicted.

Associate Professor Tettamanzi said the advance could eventually benefit a wide range of applications.

"Highly sensitive superconducting quantum sensors have enormous potential in medicine, communications, industry and defence," he said. "The closer we get to the fundamental quantum limit of detection, the more information we can extract from very weak signals.”

Potential future applications include improved brain monitoring systems, more sensitive radio-frequency receivers, low-noise communication technologies and advanced electromagnetic sensing platforms.

The discovery could also make future devices easier and less costly to manufacture because the new approach removes the need to fabricate large arrays containing many different loop sizes.

While further testing is required before the technology can be commercialised, the researchers believe the breakthrough brings practical quantum-limited sensors a significant step closer to reality.

The concept is the subject of an international patent application, and further studies are already underway to improve device performance and explore new applications.

‘Synthetic areas spread in two-dimensional Superconducting Quantum Interference Filter Arrays’ is published in Physical Review Applied. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/wc1k-wxtc.