Stanford: Quantum computing spins closer(ng magnetic field produced by a supercon...)

Date:11/21/2008

ng magnetic field produced by a superconducting magnet. The researchers first hit the qubit with laser light of specific frequencies to define and measure the electron spin, all within a few nanoseconds. Then they rotated the spin with polarized light pulses in a few tens of picoseconds (a picosecond is one trillionth of a second). Finally, the spin state was read out with yet another optical pulse.

Similar experiments have been done before, but with radio-frequency pulses, which are slower than laser-light pulses. "The optics were quite tricky," Press said. The researchers had to find a single, specific photon emitted from the qubit in order confirm the spin state of the electron. That photon, however, was clouded in a sea of scattered photons from the lasers themselves.

"The big benefit is to make quantum computing faster," Press said. The experiment "pushed quantum dots up to speed with other qubit candidate systems to ultimately build a quantum computer."

Quantum computers are still years away. In the shorter term, Press said, researchers would like to build a system of tens or hundreds of qubits to simulate the operation of a larger quantum system.

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Contact: Dan Stober dstober@stanford.edu 650-721-6965 Stanford University Source:Eurekalert

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