3D-printed components for quantum devices

Abstract

Recent advances in the preparation, control and measurement of atomic gases have led to new insights into the quantum world and unprecedented metrological sensitivities, e.g. in measuring gravitational forces and magnetic fields. The full potential of applying such capabilities to areas as diverse as biomedical imaging, non-invasive underground mapping, and GPS-free navigation can only be realised with the scalable production of efficient, robust and portable devices. We introduce additive manufacturing as a production technique of quantum device components with unrivalled design freedom and rapid prototyping. This provides a step change in efficiency, compactness and facilitates systems integration. As a demonstrator we present an ultrahigh vacuum compatible ultracold atom source dissipating less than ten milliwatts of electrical power during field generation to produce large samples of cold rubidium gases. This disruptive technology opens the door to drastically improved integrated structures, which will further reduce size and assembly complexity in scalable series manufacture of bespoke portable quantum devices.

Additive manufacturing of magnetic shielding and ultra-high vacuum flange for cold atom sensors

“…Additionally it is important to determine if any special surface cleaning or passivation steps are necessary before 3D-printed vacuum parts can be used. Currently the vacuum compatibility of 3D-printed materials has been shown for small components that sit inside a vacuum system, such as for Al-Si10-Mg, titanium and silver 21,26,37 and to make low vacuum KF vacuum parts 38 . However here we will show that 3D-printed parts can be used to construct high vacuum chambers, through acting as the vacuum wall and sealing to peripheral components, using indium sealing.…”

“…3D-printing has been used for a variety of applications ranging from fast compact laser shutters 17 to the realisation of complex magnetic field configurations 18,19 . The focus of 3D-printing technologies in regards to cold atom based sensors, thus far has been on magnetic field generation 20,21 , while little attention has been given to environmental isolation. Here we report on two demonstrators of crucial environmental isolation technologies needed for the realisation of portable and compact quantum technologies developed with 3D-printing, namely magnetic shielding and vacuum components.…”

Taking atom interferometric quantum sensors from the laboratory to real-world applications

“…The portability of atomic sensors imposes SWAP constraints and commercial use also involves cost issues. Strategies to overcome these problems and limitations include 3D printing [123][124][125] to minimize the use of mechanical mounts, robust and compact laser systems [126][127][128][129] to decrease the number of lasers needed in atom interferometers and compact magneto-optical traps 103,117,[126][127][128][129][130][131][132][133] operating with just a single input beam to reduce the space required by optical interfaces. However, a genuine hand-held product will only become available once an integration similar to micromechanical devices is achieved.…”

Enhanced observation time of magneto-optical traps using micro-machined non-evaporable getter pumps

“…In recent years, significant efforts have been made to address the scalability of cold-atom instruments 18 , 19 , even resulting in the commercialization of compact cold-atom clocks and sensors. Designs for chip-scale cold-atom systems have also been proposed 20 and demonstrated, including novel ways of redirecting laser beams to trap atoms such as the pyramid MOT 21 , 22 and grating-MOT (GMOT) 23 – 25 , as well as density regulators 26 , 27 and low-power coils 28 . Progress has also been recently reported on the development of chip-scale ion pumps 29 .…”