As we move into 2025, we will be entering into the International Year of Quantum Science & Technology, as decided by the United Nations. The goal they set out to achieve is regarding education and progress, policies and even culture. But what is quantum science and how does Torr Scientific fit into this?
Quantum science explores the most fundamental structures in our universe, including electrons and neutrons for matter and photons for light. (This in itself brings up the age-old question asking if light is a particle or a wave and this article won’t have any incredible revelations regarding that.) However, importantly for us, quantum science involves the discussion of electromagnetic radiation. Research around quantum has wide-reaching applications across medicine, computing and even chemistry and a lot of that research is conducted under vacuum.
Some quantum products manufactured by Torr include our atom trap chambers (ATC), microchannel plate (MCP) detectors and our glass cells. Let’s explore how they work.
MCP detectors
MCP detectors are used for detecting particles or photons within and beyond the ultraviolet spectrum. They consist of the MCP (a plate with tiny channels running through it), an electrode and an output screen. A particle or photon enters the MCP at an angle and strikes the wall and a flow of electrons begins to cascade through the channel. While travelling through these channels, they repeatedly collide with the walls and with each of these collisions they collect electrons from the surfaces (thanks to the photoelectric effect). The electrons are accelerated along the channel with the inclusion of an electrode with a voltage potential gradient. By the end of the channel, there is a beam of electrons to be detected, either as an electrical pulse from an anode or converted to light with a phosphor screen.
Atom Trap Chambers
Atom trap chambers are used for capturing atoms for research, in areas such as quantum mechanics, chemistry and meteorology. They utilise the Doppler and Zeeman Effect, respectively, to move and hold the atoms, which occurs when the lasers pointing into the system are operated slightly below the target atom’s atomic resonance frequency. This frequency is the rate of an atom’s emission and absorption of light and this differs for each type of atom. The Doppler Effect leads to an atom “blue-shifting” the light emitted by any laser it is moving towards. This causes the frequency of the laser to be warped to the correct rate for that atom, which means it starts to absorb more light and slows as it gets closer to the laser. The Zeeman shift stops the atom from moving away from the “trap”, it causes the atoms’ “atomic energy levels” to split and this leads to the atom scattering photons. This scattering pushes the atom back into position.
Glass cells
Glass cells work similarly to our atom trap chambers but are fully constructed from glass, with flanges available to attached to larger chambers. They are constructed from either alkali borosilicate or Pyrex and are available with a glass stem and a choice of flange types and styles. The applications for this device include atom interferometry and they are considered the building blocks of quantum computing.
Quantum science and technology is a monumental key for exploring the great depths of physics and chemistry we still are yet to understand. If you are interested in any of the quantum products we manufacture, please reach out to our sales team to receive a quote.
