Quantum Science and Device Facility (QSDF)

A new UK facility will cool scientific samples to near absolute zero so researchers can study and harness the bizarre quantum behaviour of materials. Quantum mechanics governs the behaviour of particles at the smallest scales, but its effects are normally masked by heat and noise. This project builds the Quantum Science and Device Facility (QSDF)—the first of its kind in the UK—to give researchers controlled access to that quantum world. By cooling materials, superconductors, and hybrid devices to temperatures near absolute zero, scientists can observe quantum properties that are otherwise invisible. If successful, the QSDF could accelerate the development of practical quantum technologies. For example, it could help lay the foundations for powerful new quantum computers built from superconducting circuits. It could also enable a “quantum internet” by developing a device that converts microwave signals to optical light, allowing distant quantum computers to communicate through standard fibre-optic cables. These advances would transform computing, secure communications, and data transfer—systems that quietly underpin modern life. This is primarily a fundamental science facility. Much of the work is curiosity-driven, exploring the foundations of quantum physics. But past fundamental research in quantum mechanics led directly to lasers, transistors, and MRI scanners—breakthroughs no one predicted at the time.