Centre for Nanoscience and Quantum Information
The Centre for Nanoscience and Quantum Information is a research centre within the University of Bristol. The centre was initially built as an intra-university facility, but was absorbed into the portfolio of the School of Physics in 2016. The centre officially opened in 2009, the Centre was designed to provide a unique ultra-low-vibration research space, making the labs some of the quietest in the world.
The Building
Building layout
The building is split across four floors:- Basement: is entirely for the most sensitive experimental work, with seven low noise labs, two ultra-low noise labs, an anechoic chamber and a class 1000 cleanroom, as well as three prep labs.
- Ground Floor: has two Quantum Information labs, staff offices plus a seminar room and large, bright, open foyer and coffee area.
- First Floor: houses researchers, students and operations staff associated with QETLabs, the QE-CDT and affiliated quantum technologies groups.
- Second Floor: contains another office and a large Quantum Engineering Technology lab; a main interdisciplinary communal lab containing a clean room area and several annex labs.
- Third Floor: location of the main switch room and plant room for all the Centre services.
Building design features
"The new Bristol Centre will serve as a commendable and viable construct for interdisciplinary research; its ultimate goal is to move to new shores and new territories." |
| Nobel laureate Heinrich Rohrer, 2010, at the Scientific Opeining of the Centre. |
Low vibrations
The primary source of noise for researchers at the nanoscale is mechanical vibration. Activities within a building generate noise that can travel through the structure and vibrations created outside can travel through the ground and enter the building. A variety of methods were employed to reduce vibration generation, travel and entry into the lab space:- The main structure of the building is massive, 2.0 m-thick concrete foundations and 0.5 m-thick concrete floors.
- All plant machinery is removed to the third floor, as far from the lab space as possible.
- All services and plant machinery is suspended on springs, rubber pads or damper pads to reduce coupling between the mechanism and the building.
- All services are balanced to reduce turbulence within pipe and ductwork.
- All corridors are floating, separate from the main structure, stopping vibrations crossing the floor and major foot traffic from affecting the building.
- The lift shaft is decoupled from the building structure.
- The building is decoupled from the building next door.
- All services pass through a flexible hose coupling before entering the low noise labs.
- All Low noise labs have a seven tonne concrete isolation block set on damper pads, within the ground slab. This is the experimental space, with lower vibrations than the surrounding floor and allowing experiments to continue while the researcher walks around within the lab.
- Both ultra-low noise labs have either a 23-tonne or 27-tonne concrete isolation block supported by pneumatic rams. The block is T-shaped in cross-section, to keep the centre of gravity lower. The block is surrounded by a floating floor, so that researchers can use the room while experiments are taking place.
- To further reduce the noise in the ultra-low noise labs, control equipment can be removed from the room and installed in the neighbouring control room. The control room has its own isolation block and is heavily soundproofed. Conduits allow cables to run between the labs, allowing the experiment to be completely run from the control room.
Soundproofing
Low electrical noise
Many of the experiments planned for the Centre involve recording tiny electrical currents so electrical noise is seen as a serious problem. Each basement research lab is a full Faraday cage, all service pipework changes to plastic before entering the lab and no Category 5 cable is used in data network, optical fibre is used instead. All labs are also supplied with an independent earth and 'clean' power supply, the mains having been filtered by a 1:1 transformer.Interdisciplinary space
In addition to providing state-of-the-art low noise spaces, the building is also designed to encourage collaboration and interdisciplinary research. This includes plenty of meeting spaces and a light & spacious foyer/coffee area.Centre Staff
- Technical Manager - Steve Neck
- Deputy Technical Manager - Caroline Jarrett
- Administration/Reception - Alex Martin