Quantum computing, no cooling required

Public release date: 3-Jul-2012
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Contact: Peter Reuell
preuell@fas.harvard.edu
617-496-8070
Harvard University

Harvard researchers create room-temperature quantum bits that store information for nearly two seconds

It's a challenge that's long been one of the holy grails of quantum computing: How to create quantum bits, or qubits the key building blocks of quantum computers - that exist in a solid-state system at room temperature. Most current systems, by comparison, rely on complex and expensive equipment designed to trap a single atom or electron in a vacuum then cool the entire system to close to absolute zero.

A group of Harvard scientists, led by Professor of Physics Mikhail Lukin and including graduate students Georg Kucsko and Peter Maurer, and post-doctoral researcher Christian Latta, say they've cracked the problem, and they did it by turning to one of the purest materials on Earth diamonds.

Using a pair of impurities in ultra-pure, laboratory-grown diamonds, researchers were able to create quantum bits, and store information in them for nearly two seconds an increase of nearly six orders of magnitude over the lifespan of earlier systems. The work, described in the June 8 issue of Science, is a critical first step in the eventual construction of a functional quantum computer, as well as a host of other potential applications.

"What we've been able to achieve in terms of control is quite unprecedented," Lukin said. "We have a qubit, at room temperature, that we can measure with very high efficiency and fidelity. We can encode data in it, and we can store it for a relatively long time. We believe this work is limited only by technical issues, so it looks feasible to increase the lifespan into the range of hours. At that point, a host of real-world applications become possible."

In addition to a practical quantum computer, Lukin envisions the system being used in applications that include "quantum cash" a payment system for bank transactions and credit cards that relies on the coding of quantum bits to thwart counterfeiters and quantum networks a highly secure communications method which uses quantum bits to transmit data.

"This research is an important step forward in research toward one day building a practical quantum computer," said Kucsko, a graduate student working in Lukin's lab and one of two first authors of the paper. "For the first time, we have a system that has a reasonable time-scale for memory and simplicity, so this is now something we can pursue."

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For additional information, please visit the Harvard Gazette: http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2012/07/quantum-computing-no-cooling-required/

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 3-Jul-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Peter Reuell
preuell@fas.harvard.edu
617-496-8070
Harvard University

Harvard researchers create room-temperature quantum bits that store information for nearly two seconds

It's a challenge that's long been one of the holy grails of quantum computing: How to create quantum bits, or qubits the key building blocks of quantum computers - that exist in a solid-state system at room temperature. Most current systems, by comparison, rely on complex and expensive equipment designed to trap a single atom or electron in a vacuum then cool the entire system to close to absolute zero.

A group of Harvard scientists, led by Professor of Physics Mikhail Lukin and including graduate students Georg Kucsko and Peter Maurer, and post-doctoral researcher Christian Latta, say they've cracked the problem, and they did it by turning to one of the purest materials on Earth diamonds.

Using a pair of impurities in ultra-pure, laboratory-grown diamonds, researchers were able to create quantum bits, and store information in them for nearly two seconds an increase of nearly six orders of magnitude over the lifespan of earlier systems. The work, described in the June 8 issue of Science, is a critical first step in the eventual construction of a functional quantum computer, as well as a host of other potential applications.

"What we've been able to achieve in terms of control is quite unprecedented," Lukin said. "We have a qubit, at room temperature, that we can measure with very high efficiency and fidelity. We can encode data in it, and we can store it for a relatively long time. We believe this work is limited only by technical issues, so it looks feasible to increase the lifespan into the range of hours. At that point, a host of real-world applications become possible."

In addition to a practical quantum computer, Lukin envisions the system being used in applications that include "quantum cash" a payment system for bank transactions and credit cards that relies on the coding of quantum bits to thwart counterfeiters and quantum networks a highly secure communications method which uses quantum bits to transmit data.

"This research is an important step forward in research toward one day building a practical quantum computer," said Kucsko, a graduate student working in Lukin's lab and one of two first authors of the paper. "For the first time, we have a system that has a reasonable time-scale for memory and simplicity, so this is now something we can pursue."

###

For additional information, please visit the Harvard Gazette: http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2012/07/quantum-computing-no-cooling-required/

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/hu-qcn070312.php

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