India’s First Liquid Helium Cryogenic Facility Launched at IIT Bombay

Union Minister of State for Science & Technology Dr. Jitendra Singh inaugurated India’s first Liquid Helium Cryogenic Facility at IIT Bombay.

• The facility is positioned as a foundational national research asset to advance cryogenic engineering, superconductivity, quantum computing, photonics, and green energy technologies.
• Equipped with an efficient helium recovery system, it is expected to reduce cryogenic experiment costs by nearly 90% while conserving helium—a scarce global resource.
• The facility will be open for use by industries, universities, and research institutions.

Boost to Quantum Technology Ecosystem

Review of Indigenous Quantum Sensing & Imaging Platforms

• The Minister visited IIT Bombay’s Quantum Lab to review India’s first indigenous series of quantum sensing and imaging technologies.

QMagPI: India’s First Portable Quantum Magnetometer

• QMagPI, developed at IIT Bombay, is the country’s first portable magnetometer capable of detecting ultra-low magnetic fields at the nanotesla (nT) scale.
• Built using nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers—atomic defects in diamond enabling quantum sensing.
• Applications include:
  • Strategic & defence operations
  • Mineral exploration
  • Precision scientific instrumentation
  • High-resolution magnetic field mapping

Quantum Diamond Microscope (QDM) Unveiled

• The Minister also witnessed India’s first indigenous Quantum Diamond Microscope (QDM) developed by IIT Bombay’s PQuest Group.
• Enables high-precision magnetic imaging using NV centers, crucial for materials research and nanoscale diagnostics.

Q-Confocal System: Quantum Tech in Healthcare

• The Minister examined the Q-Confocal microscope, a homegrown quantum-enabled confocal system.
• Uses T₁ relaxometry of NV centers in nanodiamonds to detect intracellular changes, especially Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS).
• Demonstrated potential for early-stage cancer diagnostics.
• Successful trials conducted on:
  • U87-MG glioblastoma cells
  • Keratinocyte cells
• Capable of measuring disease-related nanoscale changes in real time.

Cryogenics: Backbone of Quantum Computing

• Liquid helium is essential for:
  • MRI systems
  • Advanced materials characterization
  • Cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM)
• Quantum computing requires dilution refrigerators operating at ~10 millikelvin (below –272°C).
• The new facility lays the foundation for indigenous development of dilution refrigeration units, vital for India’s strategic technological independence.

Source: PIB