Switzerland’s guardian of measurement steps into the quantum era

As quantum technologies move from laboratory research to industrial application, Switzerland’s national metrology institute is building the measurement infrastructure that will underpin the next generation of precision industries, with Western Switzerland among the primary beneficiaries.

Metrology, the science of measurement, is the often-invisible backbone of precision industries. From pharmaceutical manufacturing to semiconductor production and medical device engineering, every high-stakes process depends on measurement standards that are traceable, reliable, and internationally recognized. METAS, Switzerland’s Federal Institute of Metrology, is the institution that guarantees those standards. Based in Bern-Wabern and operating under the Federal Department of Justice and Police, METAS maintains Switzerland’s national measurement references across more than twenty technical domains, from time and frequency to ionizing radiation, nanotechnology, and gas analysis. As an official Innosuisse research partner, it also conducts applied R&D in collaboration with Swiss industry and academia, making it both a regulatory anchor and an active participant in the country’s innovation ecosystem.

The second quantum revolution and what it demands of metrology

Quantum technologies are entering a new phase. The first quantum revolution produced semiconductors, lasers, and MRI machines through an improved understanding of quantum phenomena, largely as indirect applications of quantum theory. The second is different in kind: it involves the deliberate engineering of quantum effects such as superposition, entanglement, and quantum sensing to build devices with capabilities that classical physics cannot replicate. Quantum cryptographic systems, quantum communication networks, quantum-enhanced sensors, and optical atomic clocks are all moving toward industrial and commercial deployment. Each of these technologies requires a new generation of measurement standards to function at scale, standards that existing metrology infrastructure was not designed to provide. Without quantum-ready metrology, the second quantum revolution cannot be fully industrialized.

A four-pillar competence center for quantum measurement

In response, METAS has developed a quantum metrology competence center structured around four interconnected pillars. The first covers the characterization of quantum components(single photons, entangled particle pairs, and qubits) which form the building blocks of quantum communication and computing systems. The second addresses quantum communication infrastructure, including calibration and testing capabilities for quantum key distribution devices and quantum random number generators, both of which are critical to quantum-secure data transmission. The third pillar focuses on quantum sensors: instruments based on Rydberg atoms and nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond, which are capable of measuring electromagnetic fields with greater precision, speed, and bandwidth than conventional sensors, properties with direct relevance to industrial measurement at high frequencies. The fourth pillar concerns quantum-era standards themselves, built on optical lattice clocks and microwave atomic clocks for the dissemination of time and frequency references that future quantum networks will require.

This framework was developed in collaboration with the Basel Quantum Center at the University of Basel, and is being advanced through a European metrology research partnership that is exploring Rydberg atoms as precision electric field sensors for industrial environments. The competence center is designed to be built progressively, ensuring that METAS can support each new quantum technology as it reaches the point of industrial application.

From Bern to the broader Swiss ecosystem

The relevance of METAS’s quantum metrology work extends well beyond its Bern-Wabern campus. Switzerland’s industrial strength in precision manufacturing, medtech, watchmaking, and advanced instrumentation rests on a foundation of measurement reliability that METAS sustains and continuously advances. As quantum technologies begin to penetrate sectors that are particularly active across Western Switzerland, the availability of world-class quantum metrology infrastructure becomes a structural competitive advantage for companies operating in the region.

METAS also serves as a bridge between Swiss industry and the international metrology community, contributing to European and global standards bodies that determine how measurements are recognized across borders, a dimension of particular importance for export-oriented Swiss manufacturers. Its certification body, METAS-Cert, provides EU-recognized conformity assessments for measuring instruments, facilitating market access for Swiss companies across Europe.

Taken together, these functions make METAS not simply a regulatory institution, but a strategic asset for the Swiss precision economy, and one that is actively preparing for the technologies that will define the next decade.