Resources
Facilities in the CQE region
The Chicago Quantum Exchange institutions have state-of-the-art facilities and equipment that will help advance quantum information science and catalyze new technologies.
The Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF), a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User Facility located at Argonne National Laboratory, enables breakthroughs in science and engineering by providing supercomputing resources and expertise to research programs, and is the future home of Argonne’s first exascale system, Aurora.
Supported by the DOE's Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) program, the ALCF and its partner organization, the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility, operate leadership-class supercomputers that are orders of magnitude more powerful than the systems typically used for open science.
Located at Argonne National Laboratory, the Argonne National Foundry is a 6,000-square-foot facility focused on developing scalable semiconductor quantum systems. The foundry is home to a quantum computing test bed developed with insight from Intel. Other instruments that are co-located at the foundry are new diamond growth tools, environment-controlled annealing furnaces, tools for qubits creation and materials transfer and flip-chip bonders for device integration.
The Q-NEXT collaboration led the establishment of the Argonne National Foundry to develop high-quality, standardized materials for quantum devices and systems. These resources provide an in-demand source of materials and data to accelerate progress across the National Quantum Information Science Research Centers and in national QIS research.
The Center for Nanoscale Materials (CNM) is a DOE Office of Science Nanoscale Science Research Center dedicated to nanoscience and nanotechnology. From X-ray microscopy that uses the power of Argonne’s Advanced Photon Source to clean room-based nanofabrication techniques, the CNM provides a powerful combination of scientific resources. The CNM houses resources that enable electron paramagnetic resonance measurements of spin-dependent phenomena, a dilution refrigerator for measurements at the milli-Kelvin level, magneto-electro-optical spectrometer and magneto-optical photoluminescence microscope, and a JEOL JBX-8100FS electron beam writer with <10 nm resolution for device fabrication.
A Quantum Entanglement and Transduction laboratory is being assembled in the CNM. When complete, the laboratory will house tools for characterizing non-classical photon sources, quantum entanglement, and magneto-optical single spin responses. This effort will also result in the installation of an adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator for ease of access to milli-Kelvin temperatures.
The Advanced Photon Source (APS) at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory provides ultra-bright, high-energy storage ring-generated x-ray beams for research in almost all scientific disciplines
These x-rays allow scientists to pursue new knowledge about the structure and function of materials in the center of the Earth, in outer space, and all points in between. The knowledge gained from this research is impacting the evolution of combustion engines and microcircuits, aiding in the development of new pharmaceuticals, and pioneering nanotechnologies whose scale is measured in billionths of a meter, to name just a few examples. These studies promise to have far-reaching impact on our technology, economy, health, and our fundamental knowledge of the materials that make up our world.
The Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility (PNF) at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) at the University of Chicago is an open-access, 10,000 square foot ISO Class 5 research cleanroom that provides advanced lithographic processing of hard and soft materials. This facility includes a full suite of optical and electron beam lithography tools; physical vapor deposition tools, including electron beam evaporators and sputter systems; atomic layer deposition; plasma etching tools using both fluorine and chlorine-based chemistries; tube furnaces for nitride and oxide growth as well as annealing; and wet benches to accommodate most wet processing needs. Inspection tools include scanning electron as well as advanced optical microscopy, profilometry, ellipsometry, and thin-film interferometry.
The Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) facility in the UChicago Chemistry department supports the entire campus with access to equipment and free training for characterization of solutions of chemical compounds. Open to trained users 24/7, researchers operate equipment themselves and pay recharge fees for instrument time. Labs in three buildings primarily support synthetic chemistry, but other applications are very welcome. The Searle and Gordon Center NMR labs house two 400 MHz automated spectrometers (chiefly for easy and high-throughput data acquisition, including multinuclear and common 2D NMR), and three manually-operated 500 MHz instruments (for rapid access and intensive extended use, including multinuclear and 2D/3D spectroscopy, variable-temperature work, diffusion measurements, structure characterization, etc.). One instrument features an optical apparatus for NMR monitoring of photochemical reactions. The Searle lab features a small wet lab enabling titrations and kinetics/reaction monitoring. There is also an electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) instrument (X-band with cryocooler) in the Jones building for studying paramagnetic compounds. Off-campus users can be accommodated with special arrangement.
The UChicago Department of Chemistry mass spectroscopy facilities provide chromatography and mass spectrometers, IR instrumentation, and inductively coupled mass spectrometry. The facility is available for Chicago-area users.
The University of Chicago MRSEC maintains a robust set of Shared Research Facilities with resources for creating, characterizing, measuring, and imaging many types of hard and soft materials. All facilities are open-access and available to any interested internal or external user from academia, industry, or elsewhere. Instrumentation includes tools for microscopy (scanning electron, scanning probe, optical metrology), x-ray and ultra-high-speed imaging, spectroscopy (EDS, Raman, fluorescence, ellipsometry, spectrophotometry), rheometry, thermal processing, surface preparation & characterization, low temperature magnetic and electrical characterization, and digital fabrication including 3D printers, laser and waterjet cutters, and a full student shop. Computational resources include COMSOL.
The X-ray research facilities provide access to the state-of-the-art X-ray diffraction, scattering, and spectroscopy techniques. They perform routine and non-routine small-molecule single-crystal X-ray structure determination and X-ray powder diffraction analysis for a variety of samples. Small angle scattering techniques can be used to probe a broad range of particle sizes starting from a few nanometers. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy is utilized for analysis of the surface chemistry and X-ray fluorescence is used for elemental analysis of bulk materials.
The Cleanroom Labs at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign contain crystal growth capabilities and semiconductor fabrication tools. UIUC Cleanroom Lab's include equipment designed for: Chemical Vapor Deposition, Thermal, Etch, Physical Vapor Deposition, Lithography, and Metrology.
The University of Illinois’ Coordinated Science Laboratory is a premier, multidisciplinary research laboratory that focuses on information technology at the crossroads of circuits, computing, control, and communications.
Led by a faculty of world-renowned experts and researchers, CSL uses these innovations to explore critical issues in defense, medicine, environmental sciences, robotics, life-enhancement for the disabled, and aeronautics.
HMNTL is one of the country's largest and most sophisticated university facilities for conducting photonics, microelectronics, biotechnology, and nanotechnology research. Their 15 class 100 and 1000 cleanrooms, 46 general purpose labs, and 2,500 square foot biosafety level-2 bionanotechnology complex contain all the tools researchers need to conduct their work.
HQAN features three quantum testbeds that will collaboratively develop the technology needed to assemble a hybrid quantum processor and network. Each laboratory is designed with multiple kinds of quantum hardware, which will be used to demonstrate distributed quantum processing and communication protocols. Our program integrates engineering, computing, and physics expertise to achieve our scientific, technology, and education goals. The HQAN center also includes workforce development initiatives that will inspire and train students who will contribute to the future quantum technology and innovation ecosystem.
The MakerLab is open to students, faculty, partners, and members of the CQE community. The Illinois MakerLab provides the following services: 3D Printing, 3D Design & Prototyping, and 1 to 1 Private Tutoring for 3D Modeling.
NCSA's advanced cyberinfrastructure and expertise provide a hub for transdisciplinary research that unites academic institutions and global companies in search of the answers to the world’s most challenging problems and help us meet the needs of future generations.
One of five facilities created by the National Science Foundation’s Supercomputer Centers Program, NCSA is supported by the state of Illinois, the University of Illinois, the National Science Foundation and various federal agencies working together for the benefit of all those we serve.
The MRL Central Research Facilities offer cutting-edge instrumentation and expert professional staff for materials research. Shared user facilities broaden access to expensive and complex cutting-edge research instrumentation while providing for maintenance and continuous development by a dedicated professional staff. The presence of the facilities dramatically enhances intellectual interactions among researchers. Additionally, having expert scientists who work with users every day improves efficiency as well as quality of the scientific results.
MRL operates as a user facility, enabling researchers to use instruments independently after completing the application process and necessary training.
Verizon Business continues to accelerate the development of real-world 5G use cases with the rollout of its latest 5G Innovation Hub at the University of Illinois Research Park. Students, startups and large corporations will now be able to develop and test 5G-enabled solutions at the Research Park’s headquarters. The Research Park, a technology innovation hub for startups and corporate R&D operations, is home to more than 120 companies employing students and full-time tech professionals. It is located on campus at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband service at the Innovation Hub will drive new research and development around using 5G for machine learning, IoT, robotics, artificial intelligence, guided vehicles, drones, manufacturing process automation, virtual reality, data analytics and more.
NUANCE’s mission is to provide and continually update state-of-the-art and core analytical characterization instrumentation resources, with 24/7 open access, for the NU community and beyond. This includes not only mere “instrumentation and access,” but also hands-on training, education, research collaboration, and outreach. NUANCE aspires to be a proactive and integral part of all scholarly activities related to characterization at and beyond NU.
The Electron Probe Instrumentation Center (EPIC) facility offers a wide range of electron microscopy (both transmission and scanning), accessory instrumentation, and expertise to the scientific and engineering community through education, collaboration, and service. The laboratory provides facilities for the preparation and examination of many types of bulk and thin specimens (foils/films), fine particles, and replicas, including biological materials, by transmission and scanning electron microscopy.
The Keck-II Center was established in late 2001 through the support of W. M. Keck Foundation. Keck-II also has received some support from Northwestern’s Institute for Nanotechnology’s NSF-sponsored Nanoscale Science & Engineering Center (NSEC) as well as from the State of IL and Northwestern. Keck-II facilitates research, collaboration, education and outreach in all science from soft biological matter to hard physical matter, specializing in surface analysis and nano-scale characterization.
The Integrated Molecular Structure Education and Research Center (IMSERC) facility performs a full range of chemical analyses. Such analyses include qualitative composition determination, quantitative analysis, and molecular structure determination. The most commonly used techniques are NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, optical spectroscopy, trace metals analysis and single crystal X-Ray crystallography.
NU Fabrication (NUFAB) has cleanroom facilities in Cook Hall and the Tech Institute. NUFAB_Tech contains state-of-the-art equipment for characterization, deposition, etching-ashing, photolithography and wet processing in newly built 6000 square-foot class 100 and class 1000 cleanrooms. It supports research in all areas of science, engineering, medicine, and interdisciplinary fields. It provides nanofabrication equipment and technical expertise to Northwestern as well as other academic and industrial researchers.
The Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) facility provides a means of growing thin film of metals and oxides ranging from a nanometer to a micron thick. The facility contains a state-of-the-art PVD PLD/MBE 2300 with high pressure RHEED capabilities.
The mission of the Northwestern University Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (NU-MRSEC) is to advance world-class materials research, education, and outreach via active interdisciplinary collaborations within the Center and with external partners in academia, industry, national laboratories, and museums, both domestically and abroad. This mission will be realized by two synergistic interdisciplinary research groups (IRGs), an active Seed funding program, and commercialization, shared facilities, education, and outreach programs that widely disseminate NU-MRSEC research advances to the scientific community, marketplace, society and students at all levels in a manner that promotes cultural, gender, racial, and ethnic diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The Magnet, Low Temperature, and Optical Facility (MLTOF) maintains various magnet, cryogenic and optical instrumentation. The systems support several different measurements performed over a wide range of magnetic field, temperature, and frequencies, including magnetization and magnetic susceptibility, microwave absorption, electrical transport, optical absorption, photoluminescence, pump-probe studies, and Raman spectroscopy.
The Birck Nanotechnology Center is home to Purdue’s advanced research and development on semiconductors and other technology at the atomic scale. It features the 25,000-square-foot Scifres Nanofabrication Laboratory– among the largest academic cleanrooms in the United States – as well as 33,000 square feet of specialized laboratories for device and materials characterization. The 25,000 square feet of bay-chase cleanroom has 20% of the bays operating at ISO 3 (Class 1), 50% operating at ISO 4 (Class 10), 15% operating at ISO 5 (Class 100), and the remaining 15% operating at ISO 6 (Class 1000). Birck’s experimental capabilities include nanofabrication, materials and surface characterization and microscopy, quantum design physical property measurement system, and optical characterization laboratories.
The Purdue Physics Department houses a crystal growth facility, various portable radioactive sources to test for radiation fidelity, machine and electronic shops, and a helium re-capture and re-liquification system, which significantly reduces costs of running cryogenic equipment.
The Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park (IQMP) is a first-of-its-kind park for quantum scale-up and related quantum and advanced microelectronics research and development. Located on Chicago’s Southeast Side, the IQMP includes 128 acres of land ready for immediate development with more than 300 acres available for further development with access to world-class talent, infrastructure such as power and water, transportation access within the Chicagoland region, across the country, and the world.
The park will include anchor tenant PsiQuantum, an industrial-scale cryoplant, the DARPA-Illinois Quantum Proving Ground, supplier facilities, a national algorithm center, workforce development programs, and more.
Bluefors, a leading manufacturer of cryogenic measurement systems, has opened a new lab facility in Chicago, marking the first U.S. location for its Bluefors Lab service. The facility provides startups, research groups, and organizations with access to cryogenic systems capable of sustaining millikelvin temperatures, enabling quantum technology development without the need for significant capital investment.
The Chicago lab features a Bluefors LD400 dilution refrigerator with optical access, a cryogen-free superconducting 3D vector magnet, and Quantum Machines’ OPX 1000 hybrid control electronics for five-qubit measurements. Users can also access QuantumEDGE software from QuantrolOx, which enables fully automated quantum processing unit (QPU) characterization and tune-up.