According to a recent survey by the Quantum Economic Development Consortium, the two biggest barriers to hiring a qualified quantum-ready workforce are 1) too few with specialized knowledge; and 2) a lack of hands-on experience. Breaking down the results further and applying findings to the realm of cryogenics, the top desired skills involve working with cryogenic components and systems.
It’s an age-old problem in a new-world reality: we want to hire experienced employees, but how and where do employees gain experience in a field so specialized and crucial to the quantum information industry? How can early career physicists get time working with quantum materials when lab time (and the equipment that lab time requires) is expensive and possibly beyond their means? And what about secondary students eager to learn and contribute, but with even fewer resources and options available to do so?
These challenges – so common and yet so unique – cried out for a new and affordable hardware solution, which is why Montana Instruments took their niche market and price-point seriously and created CryoCore – a streamlined cryogenic platform built for high-throughput electrical and optical materials characterization – geared particularly toward those new researchers in the quantum information systems world who might be unable to invest significant time or money into their own cryogenics setup.
BOZEMAN, MT – Montana Instruments Corporation, the pioneer of the first high-precision, fully-automated closed-cycle optical cryostat, announces the release of CryoCore™ – a streamlined cryogenic platform built for high-throughput electrical and optical materials characterization. The system is geared towards researchers
“Despite the many application benefits of working at low temperatures, not all researchers are experts in cryogenics or have budget for complex cryogenic systems,” said CEO Mark Carroll. “With CryoCore, we’re offering a streamlined version of our standard technology, which allows more labs access to Montana Instruments’ cryogenic expertise to
Using extensive expertise in thermal and low-vibration design, CryoCore is a low-vibration, cryogen-free system that allows users to access cryogenic temperatures from 4.9 K – 350 K and jump-start research right out-of-the-box. Push-button cooling, automated temperature control, and an integrated vacuum system gets users up and running quickly without the need to monitor multiple pieces of equipment.
“Traditional low-cost, closed-cycle systems require heavy time investment by the end user to get them running and keep them running optimally,” explains VP of Engineering Josh Doherty. “We already know how to design usability into a high-performance system, and now we’ve made this more accessible for a larger group of potential users.”
The CryoCore platform includes a touchscreen user interface along with all control electronics, vacuum pumps, and monitoring systems required to automate the temperature control across the entire range. It provides five window ports, 12 low-frequency DC lines, and two high-frequency RF coax lines to accommodate a range of optical and electrical measurements.
“There is a lot of work happening behind the scenes in the quantum research space,” notes Carroll. “We’re positioned to serve users at all ends of that spectrum, from early-stage materials development, to quantum device testing, to workforce training in the undergraduate teaching labs. We’re excited about the opportunities for CryoCore to meet these needs, and we think our customers will be as well.”
For more information on the CryoCore, visit learn.