Scientists have cracked the core problem of quantum computing that is how to create the key building blocks known as quantum bits at room temperature by turning to one of the purest materials on Earth: diamonds.
A team of Harvard scientists, led by Professor of Physics Mikhail Lukin, claimed to have achieved this, according to a stduy in the journal Science as quoted by media reports Wednesday.
Most current systems, by comparison, rely on complex and expensive equipment designed to trap a single atom or electron in a vacuum and then cool the entire system to absolute zero, according to the the study.
Lukin said, “We have a quantum bit, 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. "
He added, "We believe only technical issues limit this work, so it looks feasible to increase the life span into the range of hours. At that point, a host of real-world applications become possible.”
Using a pair of impurities in ultra-pure, laboratory-grown diamonds, the Harvard scientists 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 life span of earlier systems, added the study.
The work is a critical first step in the eventual construction of a functional quantum computer, the study said.
In addition to a quantum computer, Lukin envisioned 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 frustrate counterfeiters) and quantum networks (a highly secure communications method that uses quantum bits to transmit data).
