An ultra-compact dilution refrigerator for quantum device characterization and education, reaching millikelvin temperatures within an hour

As quantum technologies advance, cryogenic systems must support increasingly sizable experimental setups. Current strategies rely on ever-larger dilution refrigerators with tens of kilowatts of power consumption and multi-day cooldown times. This evolution is incompatible with the current needs of early-development-stage quantum technologies. Trial-and-error procedures still help to optimize fabrication processes or select hero-samples, and they require features often lacking in large-scale systems: rapid iteration, modularity, and sustainability.

Here, we present a radically different solution: an ultra-compact, tabletop, highly efficient dilution refrigerator optimized for nanoelectronic device characterization. Our fully miniaturized system — about 6 inches tall — delivers exceptional performance: a 15-minute cooldown from room temperature to 4 K and a base temperature of to 70 mK after an additional 25 minutes, allowing for multiple cooldown-warmup cycles within a single day. Despite its small footprint, it accommodates DC and RF wiring for multi-qubit experiments, including attenuators, circulators, and amplifiers. We have validated its operability through fluxonium and transmon device characterization.

Beyond research applications, this prototype is currently being used as a training platform by master students as part of their educational program. Our novel approach also introduces a new paradigm for cryogenic quantum infrastructures: scalable networks of compact, fast-cycling, interconnected nodes at cryogenic temperatures.