Since its inception in 1982, Quantum Design International (a privately held corporation) has developed and manufactured automated temperature and magnetic field testing platforms for materials characterization. These systems offer a variety of measurement capabilities and are in widespread use in the fields of physics, chemistry, biotechnology, materials science, nanotechnology, and quantum information research.

Building on its expertise in the global marketing and distribution of its own scientific instruments, Quantum Design International (QDI) eventually broadened its scope to distribute quality scientific instruments from other manufacturers through an international network of wholly owned subsidiaries in every major technological center around the world.

With offices in the USA, Japan, China, India, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Brazil, as well as fourteen European countries, QDI is strategically located in the world’s key centers for scientific research, providing local marketing, sales and technical support. More information on QDI's worldwide distribution business may be found here.

Quantum Design Inc. (QD) is the manufacturing arm of QDI. Located in San Diego, California, QD is the leading commercial source for automated materials characterization systems incorporating superconducting technology. QD instruments may be found in the world’s leading research institutions, and have become the reference standard for a variety of magnetic and physical property measurements. Quantum Design instruments are cited in, and provide the data for, more scientific publications than any other instrument in the fields of magnetics and materials characterization. This means that each year, literally hundreds of scientific publications, advancing the science of materials, use data generated from QD instruments.

Quantum Design then expanded its product line beyond material characterization, to include instruments such as: a 7T magneto-optical cryostat (OptiCool®) for experiments that use light and other forms of radiant energy to probe matter; a compact IR Crystal Furnace and also a laser furnace for the creation of new materials; and a full line of NexGen Liquefiers and Helium Recovery Systems for the conservation and recycling of helium (a vital and increasingly scarce resource essential for cryogenic research and instrumentation). Very recently, Quantum Design introduced an innovative correlative AFM/SEM microscope platform (FusionScope®) that was designed from the ground up to harness the benefits of using SEM with AFM microscopy while offering a wide range of AFM measurement modes.

In diverse areas such as materials characterization, high-sensitivity electrical measurements, magneto-optical experiments, and in-lab helium conservation, Quantum Design’s team of scientists and engineers provides a full spectrum of service and application support for customers both domestically and internationally.