Fermilab Operates New Underground Laboratory for Quantum Information Science R&D

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory has opened its new underground laboratory for the research and development of quantum information science applications.

The Quantum Underground Instrumentation Experimental Testbed will serve as a quantum sensor and computing research center where scientists can study how qubits behave in a radiation-free environment and determine the impact of gamma rays, X-rays, muons and beta particles on superconducting qubits, Fermilab said.

QUIET features additional shielding from radiation and a dilution refrigerator to deploy superconducting qubits at temperatures of up to 10mK.

“We must intricately understand how qubits respond to these effects in order to optimize using qubits as sensors,” said Panagiotis Spentzouris, associate laboratory director for emerging technologies at Fermilab. “QUIET is designed to do exactly that, and we expect it to have a major impact as we move forward with these technologies,” he added.

The new research center, built as part of the National Quantum Initiative, is the second Quantum Science Center companion test facility at Fermilab, which has the support of the Department of Energy’s Office of Science.