There is a new breakthrough in quantum field: the duration of quantum state can exceed 5 seconds

Silicon carbide chips for research （ picture source ： The Internet ）

The U.S. Department of energy （DOE） Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Chicago found ： The duration of quantum state can exceed 5 second , This has become a new record in the field of Quantum Science . This breakthrough is expected to achieve more complex quantum computing , Even realize " Quantum Internet ". 

 

Extend quantum states to " Regular time scales "

This breakthrough was published in 《 Scientific progress 》 The journal , They used a " Single readout " Methods , You can easily read qubits on demand . This method is based on the quantum state of electrons , Using precise laser pulses, a single electron is added to the qubit , Thus, the quantum state of the qubit lasts longer .

 

as everyone knows , Maintaining quantum states for a long time has always been a difficult task , Because quantum bits are easy to lose their information due to environmental noise —— This is one of the main reasons why quantum computers must operate at ultra-low temperatures .

Senior scientist at Argonne National Laboratory David Awschalom say ：" It's not easy to keep quantum information for a long time , Five seconds is enough to send and return the speed of light signal to the moon , If information can be transmitted to each other by quantum bits through light , That's too strong . Even close to the earth 40 After the circle , This light can still correctly reflect Quantum States , This paves the way for manufacturing distributed quantum Internet ."

 

Have enough time to execute 1 100 million quantum operations

In order to reduce the influence of background noise , Researchers made qubits from highly purified silicon carbide samples , This more vertically expandable material is widely used in commercial capacity . They apply precise microwave pulses to quantum bits , utilize " coherence " Extend the time for storing quantum information to more than five seconds .

The co first author of this paper is University of Chicago Chris Anderson say ：" These pulses separate the qubit from the noise source by rapidly flipping the quantum state , Each pulse is like clicking the undo button on a qubit , Eliminate any errors that may occur between pulses ."

He went on to say that ：" We have initially made a converter , Convert a quantum state into an electronic state , Just like the content in smart phones , Electron is the language of classical Electronics . We hope to create a new generation of equipment , These devices are sensitive to single electrons , But it also has Quantum States . Silicon carbide can do these two things , That's why we think it's suitable ."

The researchers say ： In theory , They can perform through quantum coherence 1 More than 100 million quantum operations . This breakthrough can expand the capacity of quantum computers , Perform more complex quantum computing operations , And improve the detection ability of future quantum sensors .

writing ：Chris Young

compile ： Huike

edit ： Mu Yi
notes ： This article is compiled from “Interesting Engineering”, Does not represent a quantum outpost view .