Current device. The existing prototype is already operational.
What changes next is productization, enclosure refinement, and commercial polish — not whether the core system is real.
Working prototype · Commercial product in development
The characterization layer for quantum hardware.
A compact hardware-and-software system for standardized spin-qubit characterization — built on a real prototype, a real software stack, and real measurement workflows already running today.
Shape the product
3-minute survey — your input defines what we build
Skip to a 20-min call
For teams who already know what they need
Spinoff in formation from Advanced Quantum · Contractor in the DLR Quantum Computing Initiative (SQuaP project).
Running today
Internal measurement software already runs.
ODMR, Rabi, Ramsey, Hahn-Echo — real experiments, real operators.
For your team
Replace custom scripts with standardized output.
Results that still mean the same thing six months later.
Category direction
The missing infrastructure layer for quantum hardware.
Not another component — a measurement standard.
Planned specifications
BenchtopNo optical table required
EnclosedIntegrated laser safety
TurnkeySample in, report out
All-in-oneMW source & RF electronics included
Numbers and capabilities above are design targets — refined through ongoing user interviews, not committed specs.
Built on reality
Not just a concept. A working system already exists.
The product is being commercialized from an existing internal stack: a real compact prototype, a real laboratory foundation, and real measurement software running today. The commercial enclosure and product UI are still evolving — the underlying system is not.
Real workflow origin. The product is rooted in real spin-defect measurement infrastructure,
not an imagined industrial-design exercise.
What is real today
Compact prototype hardware exists. Measurement software exists. The workflow runs. The current design challenge is turning proven internal capability into a commercial system that pilot customers immediately trust.
Compact prototype exists
Current hardware already demonstrates the physical system direction.
Measurement software runs today
The live software stack is real, even as the product UI is being redesigned.
Real lab workflows behind it
Built from actual spin-defect characterization work, not abstract market analysis.
If you can't measure qubits consistently,
you can't build quantum technology.
The problem
Qubits are not comparable today.
Every lab measures differently — making results hard to reproduce, trust, or scale. That works in early research. It breaks when a field starts to industrialize.
Person-dependent results
Analysis relies on custom scripts written by individuals. When they leave, the knowledge leaves with them.
No standardized workflow
Every lab builds its own pipeline from scratch — confocal setup, measurement scripts, analysis code, reporting. Nothing is reusable.
Reproducibility is hard to prove
Results vary between people, setups, and time. Comparing measurements across samples, batches, or labs requires manual effort.
No dedicated QC tool exists
Startups manufacturing diamond or SiC substrates must characterize every batch — but there is no commercial system built for exactly this.
Today vs. with AQD
Custom setup vs. standardized system.
The shift is not incremental — it removes an entire category of operational burden.
Today
Weeks per sample
Custom scripts, manual alignment, person-dependent analysis. Results vary between people and setups.
With AQD
Sample in, report out
Standardized workflow, automated analysis, comparable results. Same measurement, same outcome — every time.
"Sample in, report out" is the target workflow — built on top of the working prototype and the existing measurement software stack. No more fragile pipelines. No more results that leave when the postdoc leaves.
What we're building
One system. One workflow. One report language.
A dedicated, all-in-one characterization system — including microwave source, RF electronics, and laser. Not a replacement for your confocal, but the missing piece between raw measurements and comparable results.
Find defects in minutes, not hours
Integrated confocal optics locate and identify color centers — no manual alignment needed.
defect localization in <10 min on 4×4 mm samplesSame protocol, same result — every time
Pre-defined ODMR, Rabi, Ramsey sequences. No more person-dependent measurement routines.
ODMR + Rabi + Ramsey in <30 min per site, unattendedNo custom scripts. No person-dependency.
Automated fitting, parameter extraction, and quality checks — built in, not bolted on.
automated fits within ±5% of expert manual analysisResults you can compare — across samples, people, and years
Standardized, export-ready reports. Finally, characterization data that means the same thing in every lab.
one report schema across samples, operators, and yearsStep-level targets are design references — refined through ongoing user interviews, not committed specs.
Diamond — NV centers
SiC — VSi, divacancy
Software direction
The stack already runs. The product UI is being elevated.
The bright interface below is the real internal measurement software, running today. The dark interface is where the commercial product UI is heading — clearer hierarchy, better operator experience, stronger trust signal.
Hardware layer
Purpose-built benchtop system
- Integrated optics and measurement workflow around real characterization use cases
- Designed for repeatability instead of bespoke one-off setup complexity
- Structured around deployment in labs and pilot customer environments
Software layer
Automated analysis that produces trusted outputs
- ODMR, Rabi, Ramsey, and standardized metric extraction
- Fit pipelines and quality checks that do not leave with the postdoc
- Consistent report schema across samples, operators, and time
Strategic value
Own the measurement definition, not just the acquisition.
- Measurement standards create defensibility beyond components
- Software layers support recurring value through workflow integration
- Benchmark datasets compound as more systems and users run through the same pipeline
Product UI direction. Measurement control: laser, position, resolution — set once, automate the sequence.
Real-time confocal map and autofocus scans keep the operator oriented without hand-tuning scripts.
Running today. The internal UI already executes the full experiment menu — Confocal, ODMR, Rabi, Hahn-Echo, Gates.
Less polished than the product direction, but real and operational. The product work is elevating this, not inventing it.
Automated insight — planned capability.
Live coherence fits, defect-quality signals (T2*, contrast, drift) and device health at a glance.
Part of the product UI direction, not yet present in the existing internal stack.
MeasurementReal system control already exists
ProductizationUX, clarity, and trust are being upgraded
Commercial pathFrom internal tool to customer-facing software layer
Tool landscape
Where we fit.
Most existing tools solve one part of the characterization problem. Our system is designed to close the gap between raw measurements and comparable results — without replacing the parts that already work.
Existing approach
What they cover
What we add
Open-source control frameworks
In-house Python/MATLAB, flexible lab automation.
Hardware control, measurement sequences, plotting.
Standardized analysis + reports.
Fixed protocols, automated fits, comparable outputs — no more custom scripts per group.
NV imaging systems
Scanning or wide-field magnetic imaging.
Spatial magnetic field maps, sample imaging.
Qubit characterization, not imaging.
ODMR, Rabi, Ramsey, T1 / T2 — coherence and defect quality, not field maps.
Qubit control platforms
Rack-based pulse generators, RF/MW backbones.
Waveform generation, sequencing, signal acquisition.
Analysis + reporting layer on top.
Integrated confocal + analysis pipeline, not just control hardware.
External QC services
Send samples out, receive a report back.
Third-party measurement of sample batches.
On-site, own the instrument.
Characterize every batch in-house — no shipping, no queue, no dependency.
If quantum hardware scales, trusted characterization becomes non-optional.
That is the wedge. That is the category.
Why this matters
Quantum technology cannot scale without standardized measurement.
Today, qubit performance depends on individual setups, scripts, and people. That makes results hard to compare — and impossible to industrialize.
The missing infrastructure layer for quantum hardware.
We believe characterization is the missing infrastructure layer between experimental physics and scalable quantum systems — the same role a spectrometer plays in chemistry, or an oscilloscope in electronics.
Whoever defines trusted measurement workflows early gets the distribution, the data advantage, and the language of the category.
The first infrastructure layer for scalable quantum hardware.
Who this is for
Built for teams with real cost of inconsistency.
Whether you're characterizing samples for research or for production quality control — the pain is the same. The first fit is with teams that already feel it.
Research labs
Complement your confocal with standardized analysis and reporting across programs, collaborators, and years.
Quantum startups
Characterize every device or batch on-site, reproducibly, without external services or internal engineering drag.
Diamond & SiC manufacturers
Quality control for quantum-grade substrates at production scale — trusted metrics that become part of the product.
Design Partner Program
Become an early design partner — not just a future buyer.
The program is for a small number of teams that already feel the pain. Partners help shape first-generation priorities — specs, workflows, report formats — and get a direct line into the decisions that matter while we're still defining them.
01
Workflow conversation
Map today's measurement, fitting, and reporting pain points with your team. About 30 minutes.
02
Spec influence
Prioritize first-generation capabilities around the operational value you actually need.
03
Partner alignment
Define where integrated hardware and software meaningfully reduce your internal burden.
04
First-generation access
Early deployment path into the first commercial hardware runs, with preferred support.
Start with a workflow conversation
30-min call focused on your workflow — not a sales pitch.
Built by operators
Built by people who have lived the workflow — not just observed it.
This company is being built by operators who know the pain of manual fits, fragile scripts, unclear standards, and the cost of losing workflow knowledge with people.
Advanced Quantum Devices is a spinoff in formation from Advanced Quantum, a contractor in the DLR Quantum Computing Initiative under the SQuaP project (Spin-Qubit Analysis Platform for Color-Center-Based Systems, 2023–2026). Our parent company develops a mobile two-qubit system based on silicon carbide — giving us direct, hands-on experience with the exact characterization workflows this platform is being built around.
The founder worked personally in the Wrachtrup group at the University of Stuttgart, one of the foundational labs for NV-centre and spin-defect research. The product is rooted in that workflow reality, not reverse-engineered from outside the field.
We've spent years running exactly the characterization workflows we're now building a product around. We know the late nights fitting ODMR spectra with fragile scripts. We know what it's like when a colleague leaves and their analysis pipeline leaves with them. We know the pain — because it's our pain too.
Our vision is simple: every lab that works with spin defects should have a standardized characterization tool on the bench — the same way every chemistry lab has a spectrometer. Not a pile of custom scripts, but a proper instrument.
Shape what we build
We're designing the first version right now. If you participate early, your needs directly influence the specs. This is your chance to get the tool you actually want — not what we think you need.
You
Help us build the right thing.
This is an early-stage survey to gauge general interest — no commitment, no sign-up. We're learning how labs and companies characterize spin defects today. Your input directly shapes what we build.
University of Stuttgart alumnus
Standardized & reproducible
Benchtop — no optical table
Developed in Germany
FAQ
Frequently asked questions.
What defect types does the system support?
The first version focuses on nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond and silicon vacancy (VSi) and divacancy defects in silicon carbide (SiC). These are the most widely studied color centers for quantum sensing and quantum information.
Do I need an existing confocal setup?
No. The system is planned to include integrated confocal optics, laser, microwave source, and RF electronics. It is designed as a standalone benchtop instrument — no optical table or additional hardware required.
How does this differ from a general-purpose confocal microscope?
General-purpose confocals are flexible but require you to build everything on top: measurement sequences, analysis pipelines, reporting. Our system is purpose-built for spin defect characterization — standardized sequences, automated fitting, and comparable reports out of the box.
How is this different from the tools we already use (control frameworks, imaging systems, external services)?
Open-source control frameworks are great at driving hardware — they don't standardize the analysis or the report. NV imaging systems create magnetic field maps — they don't characterize qubit properties like T1, T2, or contrast. Qubit control racks generate and acquire signals — they don't include an analysis pipeline. External QC services return a report — but you don't own the instrument and you wait in line. Our system is designed to close the gap: a dedicated characterization instrument with a standardized, automated analysis layer, on-site.
What stage is the project in?
We are in the market validation phase. A working prototype and an internal measurement software stack already exist; the commercial enclosure and product UI are still being refined. The product is being designed based on direct input from potential users. If you take the survey, your needs directly shape the specs of the first version.
Can I export measurement data?
Yes, by design — export in standard formats is part of the first-version specification, finalized with design-partner input. We believe your data belongs to you — no lock-in.
Final call
Help define the standard before the market hardens around someone else.
Early conversations shape first-generation specs, workflows, and report formats. Good fit for teams that already feel the cost of inconsistent characterization.
For labs & startups: shape first-generation priorities and workflow fit.
For manufacturers: trusted, repeatable QC outputs at production scale.
For all: judge us on clarity, not hype.