Public Funding for Torr Scientific Limited

Quantum technologies (QT) have the potential to transform many aspects of our technology and society. To date, they provide the world's most accurate clocks for precision timing and navigation, as well as high-performance sensors for e.g. magnetic and gravitational fields, which are already finding applications in subterranean mapping and medical imaging. However, the complexity of these devices makes them bulky and unreliable; so far, this has heavily restricted their use in real-world applications. Additive Manufacturing (AM), more commonly known as "3D printing", is a key emerging technology that can provide a step-change in the quest to make quantum devices smaller, more power-efficient, and more reliable. AM allows the rapid, cost-effective manufacture of geometrically complex parts, featuring performance-enhancing structures that would be near impossible or extremely expensive and laborious to produce via conventional methods. So far, the application of AM within quantum technologies has been extremely limited. However, just as in many other technological areas, AM has the potential to offer substantial benefits for QT. Developing design methods and exploiting AM techniques for the QT sector will be key to the future of the industry. The current state-of-the-art in AM for QT, developed by Nottingham University and Added Scientific Ltd, represents a convincing proof-of-principle of the applicability of AM within the QT sector and the potential benefits it offers. QTEAM aims to take that further and fully exploit the benefits of AM to produce a best-in-class compact atomic gravimeter for space-based applications using industrial processes. This builds upon a design that is currently being developed by RAL space (STFC -- Laboratories). Proving the efficacy of AM components for QT will open a new market within the sector, as these techniques will be useful across a wide range of QT devices. UK-based project partners Metamorphic Additive Manufacturing Ltd and Torr Scientific Ltd, supported by the know-how and intellectual property resulting from this project, will be ideally placed to lead industry activity in this new and important area.

"There is a growing problem of antibiotic resistance. As well as researching new drugs, it is essential that we manage our current drugs effectively to be able to continue to treat infections and enable surgery. There is good evidence that many patients receive the wrong dose, and in any case individuals differ between one another and during the course of an episode of illness. We have developed a relatively painless blood-free method of measuring antibiotics just below the surface of the skin- the microneedle array. These devices can be used to control perfusion pumps or monitor a patient's individual response to antibiotics. The dose of drug can then be tweaked to obtain the most effective and safest dose. The next step is to develop methods for manufacturing large numbers of the microneedle array. This will speed up testing on healthy humans and ultimately enable incorporation of the sensors into systems for delivering individualised drug treatments in hospitals, clinics and in the community."

The project will produce a prototype X-ray source and monochromator for use in X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). XPS is a surface analysis technique that uses X-rays to interrogate the sample within a vacuum chamber. This prototype source will incorporate Torr Scientific Ltd’s (TSL) existing diamond-tipped anode technology, but will have novel geometry and use of materials to produce a focused, monochromated X-ray spot of superior performance. Modern XPS systems use monochromated X-rays occupying a narrow wavelength band. This delivers detailed chemical information unavailable with a non-monochromated source. Confining the X-rays to a small spot on the sample allows more precise spatial analysis of the sample, but tends to give less signal, increasing the analysis time. This means that the small spot capabilities on many systems are rarely used. The novel monochromator geometry in the prototype system will give more efficient X-ray harvesting and more power in a small spot than other systems. This will provide a uniquely useful small spot capability. Existing technology dictates that the source and monochromator are attached externally to the sample chamber via a series of vacuum ports. This occupies an external volume that is often comparable to that of sample chamber. Competing demands for space mean that monochromated X-ray sources are usually designed specifically for a given XPS system, and the scope for substituting a new source is limited. There are very few retrofittable small spot sources on the market. The novel geometry of the new prototype will mean that its source and monochromator are housed largely within the existing vacuum chamber, and attachment is achieved by means of a single vacuum port. Its minimal external footprint means that it can be accommodated by the vast majority of existing systems, even older or more basic systems upgrading from a non monochromated, non-small spot source.

To develop a novel in-line x-ray monochromator system for x-ray photoelectron spectrometers based on the diamond-tipped x-ray anode technology to enhance the product range.