Breakthrough by Argonne, UChicago researchers could help pave way for quantum infrastructure.
In work supported by the Q-NEXT quantum research center, scientists “stretch” thin films of diamond to create more cost-effective and controllable qubits.
A future quantum network may become less of a stretch thanks to researchers at the
Innovations in Diamond-Based Qubits
Quantum bits, or qubits, have unique properties that make them of interest to scientists searching for the future of computing networks—for example, they could be made virtually impervious to hacking attempts. However, there are significant challenges to work out before it could become a widespread, everyday technology.
One of the chief issues lies within the “nodes” that would relay information along a quantum network. The qubits that make up these nodes are very sensitive to heat and vibrations, so scientists must cool them down to extremely low temperatures to work.
“Most qubits today require a special fridge the size of a room and a team of highly trained people to run it, so if you’re picturing an industrial quantum network where you’d have to build one every five or 10 kilometers, now you’re talking about quite a bit of infrastructure and labor,” explained High.
High’s lab worked with researchers from Argonne National Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy national lab affiliated with UChicago, to experiment with the materials these qubits are made from to see if they could improve the technology.
One of the most promising types of qubits is made from diamonds. Known as Group IV color centers, these qubits are known for their ability to maintain quantum entanglement for relatively long periods, but to do so they must be cooled down to just a smidge above DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevX.13.041037
The researchers used the Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility and Materials Research Science and Engineering Center at UChicago.
Other study authors included Zixi Li, Benchen Huang, Yu Jin, Tianle Lu, Prof. Giulia Galli and Prof. David Awschalom with the University of Chicago; Nazar Delegan and Benjamin Pingault with Argonne National Laboratory; and Alexander Stramma (co-first author), William Roth, Ryan Parker, Jesus Arjona Martinez, Noah Shofer, Cathryn Michales, Carola Purser, Martin Appel, Evgeny Alexeev, and Andrea Ferrari with the University of Cambridge.
Funding: Air Force Office of Scientific Research, U.S. Department of Energy Q-NEXT National Quantum Information Science Research Center, ERC Advanced Grant PEDASTAL, EU Quantum Flagship, National Science Foundation, EPSRC/NQIT, General Sir John Monash Foundation and G-research, Winton Programme and EPSRC DTP, EU Horizon 2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Grant.