Andrew Fefferman

Host institution: National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS)

Laboratory: NEEL

Call for Projects: Proof of Concept (POC2)

Project name: NewCooler – Continuous sub-mK refrigeration by demagnetization of atomic nuclei

Amount: 0.150 M€

Description: 

The proposed ERC PoC project is to construct the first continuous nuclear demagnetization refrigerator (CNDR). Reaching temperatures near 10 mK has become relatively easy in the last decade. This cryogenic advance has driven an explosion in industrial efforts to build quantum computers based on superconducting qubits as well as rapid progress in fundamental physics experiments around 10 mK. However, cooling condensed matter below 1 mK remains challenging. Furthermore, there is no continuous cooling technology at this temperature. The CNDR will solve this problem by maintaining the sample temperature below 1 mK indefinitely while providing a large experimental space and eliminating the need for a liquid helium supply. We expect the CNDR to allow rapid investigation of qubits whose coherence is enhanced at temperatures << 10 mK and to propel work in fields ranging from nanomechanics to topological superconductivity.