Quantum Particle Nozzle

The Joint Quantum Institute at the University of Maryland needed an array of 480 holes, 50 microns in diameter, an inch deep, all pointing to a focal point 27 cm away. It seemed an impossible request, but with some creativity and intrepid engineering, we invented a solution. First, we drew up our concept and presented it to the client. Then we built a proof-of-concept, and finally the finished part. Instead of drilling 50 micron holes, an inch deep, we used tiny hypodermic tubes from our medical device experience. We painstakingly populated them in laser cut tube sheets with the proper spacing to achieve a 27 cm focal point. Everything was held together with spacer tubes with laser cut notches that locked into the tube sheet along with #6 nuts and bolts. Because we can’t have enough belts and suspenders, the 50 micron ID tubes were then encapsulated in high temperature epoxy.