The QICK, the quantum control kit developed at Fermilab National Laboratory, is beginning to reach markets beyond its original purpose of detecting dark matter. The push comes from the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy I-Corps program, which supports the commercialization of innovations born in national laboratories through technology transfer.

The QICK (Quantum Instrumentation Control Kit) was created as a tool for dark matter search experiments, but its versatility has attracted interest in other areas of quantum physics and instrumentation. Technology developed in a research laboratory can thus make the leap toward commercial applications and other scientific sectors.

The Energy I-Corps program guides teams from national laboratories through the process of identifying potential markets, validating demand and structuring the path to commercialization of their developments. In the case of the QICK, that work is allowing an instrument conceived for a very specific goal to find a place in a broader range of uses.

The experience illustrates how research in fundamental physics can produce tools with a reach beyond the experiment that originated them, and how the Department of Energy's technology transfer programs seek to make the most of that investment in knowledge and instrumentation.