Singapore’s A*STAR Quantum Innovation Centre (Q.InC) has announced a partnership with the Quantum Sensing Centre, managed by DSO National Laboratories, to develop wafer-scale vapour cells in Singapore.
According to Q.InC, this collaboration marks an important step towards building local industrial capabilities in a critical quantum component and supporting the development of resilient Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) solutions; these are used in multiple critical industries such as shipping, aviation, power grids, financial infrastructure, and defence applications. PNT solutions, according to the announcement, are becoming increasingly important as they offer an alternative that can operate when GPS signals are limited, disrupted, or unreliable.
Q.InC., also said that quantum sensors, including magnetometers, atomic clocks, and gyroscopes, offer new opportunities to enhance precision, stability, and performance; at the core of many of these technologies is the vapour cell, a key component enabling high-performance sensing systems.
Through wafer-scale manufacturing, the partnership aims to address a key challenge in scaling quantum technologies from laboratory research to real-world deployment: manufacturability. It will leverage advanced semiconductor manufacturing processes in wafer-scale vapour cells that can enable:
• Miniaturisation – supporting the development of chip-scale quantum devices;
• Energy efficiency – enabling low-power, room-temperature operation; and
• Scalability and cost efficiency – allowing hundreds of consistent vapour cells to be produced on a single wafer.
Q.InC added that this technology platform has potential applications across areas such as defence, healthcare, and precision agriculture.
Upon completion of the project with DSO, the wafer-scale vapour cell programme will be commercialised through a dedicated venture spin-out, bringing Singapore-made quantum hardware to market.
“The next breakthrough in quantum sensing will be focused on improving the yield and economics of devices. Making cells by the hundreds, identically, on one wafer is the real unsolved problem, one that we uniquely address using advanced semiconductor processes,” said Dr Leonid (Leo) Krivitsky, Senior Principal Scientist, Q.InC.
“Resilient PNT stops being a line in a strategy paper the moment you can’t source the hardware to deliver it. Building that capability locally, before you urgently need it, is the entire point,” said Eric W. Cao, Entrepreneur Partner, Q.InC.
“The Quantum Sensing Centre is excited to be partnering with Q.InC on wafer-scale vapour cell fabrication. This is a significant step towards building industrial capability in a critical quantum component,” said Kok Ping Cheng, Executive Director, Quantum Sensing Centre.
