CREARE LLC — Department of Energy SBIR Phase I: 36c

Description

Quantum Information Science (QIS) is a rapidly developing field that includes potential applications such as supercomputing, sensors and controls, and electronic security. QIS advancements can potentially be employed in next-generation cosmic microwave background (CMB) detectors, dark matter search detectors, qubit systems for quantum computing, and other quantum sensor technologies. The quantum devices require cooling to low temperatures (below 1 K). Large-scale deployment of QIS systems will likely require much larger dilution refrigerators than the currently available systems. However, scaling up these units to higher cooling capacities presents a substantial challenge. We propose to develop a dilution refrigerator system that eliminates the need to circulate and compress the 3He gas from cryogenic conditions to room temperature, and back down to cryogenic conditions. The new system invokes an approach that manages the 3He-4He mixture in the liquid phase and does not require the large 3He compressors at ambient temperature required by the currently available dilution refrigeration systems. In Phase I, we will establish specifications and operating parameters for a small and efficient liquid helium pump. We will evaluate candidate cycle configurations for low-temperature cooling and estimate the performance requirements for the system components. We will develop a preliminary design of a high-efficiency liquid helium pump, and we will use analysis tools to predict the pump losses and overall efficiency over a range of operating conditions. The advanced dilution refrigeration systems can be used to enable the development and deployment of supercomputers, encryption devices, and sensor systems based on quantum devices.