NIST-Developed Quantum Sensors Enhance Nuclear Monitoring Accuracy

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have used ultrasensitive quantum sensors to measure X-ray emissions from plutonium, uranium, and neptunium with unprecedented accuracy. These new measurements, reported in Physical Review Letters, will allow scientists to more precisely monitor nuclear material at power plants and weapons facilities by filtering out confounding X-ray background noise, thereby supporting international nuclear safeguards.