Additive manufacturing of functionalised atomic vapour cells for next-generation quantum technologies

Atomic vapour cells are an indispensable tool for quantum technologies (QT), but potential improvements are limited by the capacities of conventional manufacturing techniques. Using an additive manufacturing (AM) technique—vat polymerisation by digital light processing—we demonstrate, for the first time, a 3D-printed glass vapour cell. The exploitation of AM capacities allows intricate internal architectures, overprinting of 2D optoelectronical materials to create integrated sensors and surface functionalisation, while also showing the ability to tailor the optical properties of the AM glass by in-situ growth of gold nanoparticles. The produced cells achieve ultra-high vacuum of 2 × 10⁻⁹ mbar and enable Doppler-free spectroscopy; we demonstrate laser frequency stabilisation as a QT application. These results highlight the transformative role that AM can play for QT in enabling compact, optimised and integrated multi-material components and devices.