Prospects for creating a quantum Internet that will connect quantum computers and provide high-level data protection seem exciting. However, this technological innovation imposes serious technical requirements. Unlike traditional fiber-optic networks that use light sources, the transmission of quantum information necessitates working with separate photons.
To create and manipulate individual photons, scientists utilize quantum emitters, also known as color centers, which are atomic defects in semiconductor materials capable of radiating photons of fixed wavelength.
A team of researchers from the National Laboratory of Lawrence Berkeley (Berkeley Lab), led by Thomas Schenkel, Liang Tan, and Bubakar Kanté, have recently demonstrated a new method for creating quantum emitters using impulse ion beams. This method has proven to be much more effective than previous techniques.
Through simulations conducted on the PERLMUTTER supercomputer, the researchers discovered that the wavelength of emitted photons is sensitive to deformation in a crystal lattice. These findings have potential applications in the development of quantum color center-based radiation sensors.
Continued research is focused on studying color centers, with particular emphasis on building a database of potentially existing color centers in silicon and exploring their use in quantum calculations.
Kanté stresses the team’s goal of striving for a new paradigm of cubes in design. They aim to create a reliable color center that fulfills all the necessary technical requirements.
Cameron Geddes, the director of the ATAP department, adds that the new methods of creating color centers presented in this work represent an intriguing application of plasma science to enhance technologies in the field of quantum computer science.