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de_la_rosa
this sounds like a headache.
ReneCardenas
Resistion, I agree with your comment. A lab setting is one thing, but to scale ...
Princeton researchers claim quantum computing breakthrough
Dylan McGrath
10/19/2012 3:50 PM EDT
SAN FRANCISCO—Researchers from Princeton University have developed a technique to read spintronic information off electrons, a potential step on the road to quantum computing.
Spintronics—a concept in which information is passed by the spin on electronics rather than their charge— promises to revolutionize the computing industry with smaller, faster and more energy efficient data storage and processing.
[Get a 10% discount on ARM TechCon 2012 conference passes by using promo code EDIT. Click here to learn about the show and register.]
The Princeton team, headed by physicist Jason Petta, used a stream of microwave photons to analyze a pair of electrons trapped in a tiny cage called a quantum dot. The microwave stream allowed the scientists to read the spin state of the electrons.
"We create a cavity with mirrors on both ends—but they don't reflect visible light, they reflect microwave radiation," Petta said. "Then we send microwaves in one end, and we look at the microwaves as they come out the other end. The microwaves are affected by the spin states of the electrons in the cavity, and we can read that change."
A circuit uses microwaves to read the quantum state of an electron, a potentially scalable route to developing a quantum computer.
The apparatus created by Petta's team operates over a little more than one centimeter. But, on a subatomic scale, this distance is vast—the team likened the project to coordinating the motion of a top spinning on the moon with another on the surface of the earth.
"It's the most amazing thing," said Jake Taylor, a physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Joint Quantum Institute at the University of Maryland, who worked on the project with the Princeton team. "You have a single electron almost completely changing the properties of an inch-long electrical system."
Next: Building a larger system
Spintronics—a concept in which information is passed by the spin on electronics rather than their charge— promises to revolutionize the computing industry with smaller, faster and more energy efficient data storage and processing.
[Get a 10% discount on ARM TechCon 2012 conference passes by using promo code EDIT. Click here to learn about the show and register.]
The Princeton team, headed by physicist Jason Petta, used a stream of microwave photons to analyze a pair of electrons trapped in a tiny cage called a quantum dot. The microwave stream allowed the scientists to read the spin state of the electrons.
"We create a cavity with mirrors on both ends—but they don't reflect visible light, they reflect microwave radiation," Petta said. "Then we send microwaves in one end, and we look at the microwaves as they come out the other end. The microwaves are affected by the spin states of the electrons in the cavity, and we can read that change."
A circuit uses microwaves to read the quantum state of an electron, a potentially scalable route to developing a quantum computer.
Credit: Jason Petta/Princeton University
The apparatus created by Petta's team operates over a little more than one centimeter. But, on a subatomic scale, this distance is vast—the team likened the project to coordinating the motion of a top spinning on the moon with another on the surface of the earth.
"It's the most amazing thing," said Jake Taylor, a physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Joint Quantum Institute at the University of Maryland, who worked on the project with the Princeton team. "You have a single electron almost completely changing the properties of an inch-long electrical system."
Next: Building a larger system
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Sam Beal
10/20/2012 8:53 PM EDT
scaling is the key question. Not clear what the temp requirement is but near zero won't scale.
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resistion
10/22/2012 12:54 AM EDT
"One challenge facing scientists is that the spins of electrons, or any other quantum particles, are incredibly delicate. Any outside influences, whether a wisp of magnetism or glimpse of light, destabilizes the electrons' spins and introduces errors."
Shielding from noise sources is going to be a toughie.
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ReneCardenas
10/22/2012 5:45 PM EDT
Resistion, I agree with your comment. A lab setting is one thing, but to scale up, it would imply that the system would have to spend large amonunt of resources to limit other sources of influence (NOISE). So from the start this new computing method is doomed. It is tough enough to control electrical domain, now add to the mix magnetic, radiation sources, gavity (?), etc...
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de_la_rosa
10/22/2012 6:30 PM EDT
this sounds like a headache.
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