Quantum Tech

ETH physicists have developed a silicon wafer that behaves like a topological insulator when stimulated using ultrasound. They have thereby succeeded in turning an abstract theoretical concept into a macroscopic product. The usual procedure goes like this: you have a complex physical system and attempt to explain its behaviour through as simple a model as possible.

An international team of researchers from ETH Zurich, IBM Research Zurich, Empa and four American research institutions have found the explanation for why a class of nanocrystals that has been intensively studied in recent years shines in such incredibly bright colours. The nanocrystals contain caesium lead halide compounds that are arranged in a perovskite lattice structure.

Quantum information has been transferred between a cold atomic gas and a solid crystal using photons. The work was done by Nicolas Maring and colleagues at the Institute of Photonic Sciences and the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology and could lead to significant advances in quantum computing and even the creation of a 'quantum internet'. An important challenge in building a quantum computer is how to transfer quantum bits (qubits...

A 'quantum material' that mimics a shark's ability to detect the minute electric fields of small prey has been shown to perform well in ocean-like conditions, with potential applications from defense to marine biology. The material maintains its functional stability and does not corrode after being immersed in saltwater, a prerequisite for ocean sensing. Surprisingly, it also functions well in the cold, ambient temperatures typical of seawat...

Research teams all over the world are exploring different ways to design a working computing chip that can integrate quantum interactions. Now, UNSW engineers believe they have cracked the problem, reimagining the silicon microprocessors we know to create a complete design for a quantum computer chip that can be manufactured using mostly standard industry processes and components.

In a step toward making a quantum computer using everyday materials, a team led by researchers at Princeton University has constructed a key piece of silicon hardware capable of controlling quantum behaviour between two electrons with extremely high precision. The study was published in the journal Science. The team constructed a gate that controls interactions between the electrons in a way that allows them to act as the quantum bits o...

A team at the University of Sydney and Microsoft, in collaboration with Stanford University in the US, has miniaturised a component that is essential for the scale-up of quantum computing. The work constitutes the first practical application of a new phase of matter, first discovered in 2006, the so-called topological insulators. Beyond the familiar phases of matter - solid, liquid, or gas - topological insulators are materials that operate ...

An EU-funded project working with ultrafast optics, furthers control over the spatial-temporal quantum states of light, advancing quantum information science. Quantum Information Science (QIS) holds out much hope for improved metrology as well as various ITC systems. However, the degree of control over quantum states necessary to render the approach superior to conventional techniques, makes the realisation of the technology’s potentia...

Researchers have discovered that dense ensembles of quantum spins can be created in diamond with high resolution using an electron microscopes, paving the way for enhanced sensors and resources for quantum technologies. Diamonds are made of carbon atoms in a crystalline structure, but if a carbon atom is replaced with another type of atom, this will result in a lattice defect.

The future of secure communication will be in quantum encryption, and KTH will lead research in this area under the auspices of a new national research centre financed by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation. Gunnar Björk, Professor of Photonics at KTH, says that the Wallenberg centre for Quantum Technology is considered to be one of Sweden's largest individual research efforts in recent years.