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quantum computing

RESEARCH WATCH

Diamonds boost processing speeds in quantum computers

By Dario Borghino

19:19 November 24, 2009 PST

An electromagnetic waveguide placed on diamond crystals can deliver fields strong enough t...

Scientists at UC Santa Barbara have made important advances in the field of spintronics by demonstrating the ability to electrically manipulate, at room temperatures, the quantum states of electrons trapped in the atomic structural defects of diamond crystals. Despite previous indications to the contrary, such quantum states can be manipulated very quickly, even at gigahertz frequencies, paving the way to significantly faster quantum computing. Read More

ELECTRONICS

NIST develops the world's first two-qubit programmable quantum computer

By Dario Borghino

19:55 November 17, 2009 PST

NIST postdoctoral researcher David Hanneke at the laser table used to demonstrate the firs...

In a paper recently published on Nature Physics, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) documented the implementation and verification of a two-qubit quantum computer that, according to researchers, is a truly general-purpose machine and could soon be used as a building block for much larger quantum computers. Read More

RESEARCH WATCH

Speedy communication takes a quantum leap towards reality

By Dario Borghino

18:15 October 7, 2009 PDT

An entangled state of six photons can form a quantum bit that is highly resistant to noise...

Quantum computing is expected to revolutionize electronics over the course of the next few decades, but a number of outstanding issues still remain. One such problem is that "qubits," the basic building blocks of quantum information, are very fragile and can be easily destroyed when sent on a fiber optics cable, due to the surrounding noise. Working on this issue, a team from Stockholm's KHT University, led by Magnus Rådmark, has developed a new method for combining six photons to obtain a robust qubit that is resistant to noise and is, therefore, able to travel long distances without interference. Read More

RESEARCH WATCH

MIT team develops hi-fi quantum memory

By Dario Borghino

20:27 July 21, 2009 PDT

Timing of the optical writing, write and read signals. (Photo: Haruka Tanji, Saikat Ghosh,...

Scientists are rapidly achieving important breakthroughs in quantum computing, from obtaining precise manipulation of four photons at the same time to the very first quantum processors. But just like in traditional electronics, a quantum computer can't be realized with information processing alone — we need a reliable way to store and retrieve quantum information too. A new breakthrough by MIT researchers represents a step forward in acheiving this goal of high-fidelity quantum memory. Read More

ELECTRONICS

Quantum computer closer: Optical transistor made from single molecule

By Dario Borghino

23:51 July 6, 2009 PDT

Artist's impression of a molecular transistor. (Photo: Robert Lettow)

Quantum photonics is a particularly attractive field to scientists and engineers alike in that it could, once some core issues have been resolved, allow for the production of integrated circuits that operate on the basis of photons instead of electrons, which would in turn enable considerably higher data transfer rates as well as dramatically reduced heat dissipation. Now in yet another important achievement on the road to quantum computing, researchers from ETH Zurich have managed to create an optical transistor from a single molecule. Read More

ELECTRONICS

First electronic quantum processor points to new era in computing

By Dario Borghino

16:32 July 1, 2009 PDT

The all-electronic, two-qubit quantum processor engineered by scientists at Yale

A team of researchers at Yale University has managed to create a rudimentary all-electronic quantum processor that can perform simple algorithms, in what many see as an important step towards making quantum computing a reality. The processor can perform a few simple tasks, which have been demonstrated before with single nuclei, atoms and even photons, but this is the first time that such tasks have been performed in an all-electronic device that looks and feels much like a regular microprocessor. Read More

RESEARCH WATCH

Manipulating light on a chip for quantum computing

By Dario Borghino

19:47 June 12, 2009 PDT

Manipulating photonic entangled states on a chip, artist's impression (Credit: Will Amery,...

Achieving quantum computing is not just a sheer matter of improving computational speed: it is a radically different paradigm that has attracted physicists and engineers for decades with its potential to solve problems across a number of domains — from database searches to prime number factorization and artificial intelligence. Now in a major breakthrough, a research team from the University of Bristol has achieved highly precise control of up to four photons on a silicon chip for the very first time. Read More

 
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