An innovative twist on quantum bits: Tubular nanomaterial of carbon makes ideal home for spinning quantum bits
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Loading... - sara harriet
- 08 Mar 2023
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Scientists find that a tubular nanomaterial of carbon makes for ideal host to keep quantum bits spinning in place for use in quantum information technologies.
Scientists are vigorously competing to transform the counterintuitive discoveries about the quantum realm from a century past into technologies of the future. The building block in these technologies is the quantum bit, or qubit. Several different kinds are under development, including ones that use defects within the symmetrical structures of diamond and silicon. They may one day transform computing, accelerate drug discovery, generate unhackable networks and more.
Working with researchers from several universities, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have discovered a method for introducing spinning electrons as qubits in a host nanomaterial. Their test results revealed record long coherence times — the key property for any practical qubit because it defines the number of quantum operations that can be performed in the lifetime of the qubit.
Electrons have a property analogous to the spin of a top, with a key difference. When tops spin in place, they can rotate to the right or left. Electrons can behave as though they were rotating in both directions at the same time. This is a quantum feature called superposition. Being in two states at the same time makes electrons good candidates for spin qubits. Spin qubits need a suitable material to house, control and detect them, as well as read out information in them. With that in mind, the team chose to investigate a nanomaterial that is made from carbon atoms only, has a hollow tubular shape and has thickness of only about one nanometer, or a billionth of a meter, roughly 100,000 times thinner than the width of a human hair. Read More…
