Creating an Echo Chamber for Quantum Information Systems
Scientists Pave the Way for Quantum Computing by Coupling Magnetization to Superconductivity
Excerpts and salient points ~
+ In a recent study, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have created a miniaturized chip-based superconducting circuit that couples quantum waves of magnetic spins called magnons to photons of equivalent energy. Through the development of this “on chip” approach that marries magnetism and superconductivity for manipulation of quantum information, this fundamental discovery could help to lay the foundation for future advancements in quantum computing.
By coupling magnetic behavior to a superconducting circuit, Argonne scientists pave the way for quantum information systems.
+ Because photons and magnons share such a close relationship to each other, and both contain a magnetic field component, the Argonne scientists sought a way to couple the two together. The magnons and photons “talk” to each other through a superconducting microwave cavity, which carries microwave photons with an energy identical to the energy of magnons in the magnetic systems that could be paired to it.
+ Using a superconducting resonator with a coplanar geometry proved effective because it allowed the researchers to transmit a microwave current with low loss. Additionally, it also allowed them to conveniently define the frequency of photons for coupling to the magnons.
+ “By pairing the right length of resonator with the right energy of our magnons and photons, we are in essence creating a kind of echo chamber for energy and quantum information,” Novosad said. “The excitations stay in the resonator for a much longer length of time, and when it comes to doing quantum computing, those are the precious moments during which we can perform operations.”
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