Additive Manufacturing for Advanced Quantum Technologies

TL;DR

This paper reviews how additive manufacturing can advance quantum technologies by enabling more compact, intricate, and reliable hardware components, thus facilitating the transition from laboratory prototypes to real-world applications.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of current additive manufacturing applications in quantum technology components and discusses future pathways for integrating these techniques.

Findings

Additive manufacturing enables complex, miniaturized quantum hardware components.

Current applications include optics, optomechanics, magnetic, and vacuum systems.

Future potential includes widespread adoption in quantum device fabrication.

Abstract

The development of quantum technology has opened up exciting opportunities to revolutionize computing and communication, timing and navigation systems, enable non-invasive imaging of the human body, and probe fundamental physics with unprecedented precision. Alongside these advancements has come an increase in experimental complexity and a correspondingly greater dependence on compact, efficient and reliable hardware. The drive to move quantum technologies from laboratory prototypes to portable, real-world instruments has incentivized miniaturization of experimental systems relating to a strong demand for smaller, more robust and less power-hungry quantum hardware and for increasingly specialized and intricate components. Additive manufacturing, already heralded as game-changing for many manufacturing sectors, is especially well-suited to this task owing to the comparatively large amount of design freedom it enables and its ability to produce intricate three-dimensional forms and specialized components. Herein we review work conducted to date on the application of additive manufacturing to quantum technologies, discuss the current state of the art in additive manufacturing in optics, optomechanics, magnetic components and vacuum equipment, and consider pathways for future advancement. We also give an overview of the research and application areas most likely to be impacted by the deployment of additive manufacturing techniques within the quantum technology sector.