A quantum internet based entirely on silicon is already possible

Scientists have made a crucial breakthrough in the development of quantum technology.

Quantum computing has enormous potential to provide computing power far beyond current supercomputers, which could enable advances in many other fields, such as chemistry, materials science, medicine, and cybersecurity.

For this to become a reality, it is necessary to produce both stable and long-lived qubits (quantum bits) that provide processing power, as well as the communications technology that allows these qubits to connect with each other on a large scale.

Previous research has indicated that silicon can produce some of the most stable and durable qubits in the industry. Now a team including Daniel Higginbottom, Alex Kurkjian, and Stephanie Simmons, all three from Simon Fraser University in Canada, is showing that T-centers, a luminescent defect specific to silicon, can provide a “photon bond” between qubits.

This is the first time that isolated individual T-centers have been successfully measured.

The components of the T center (two carbon atoms and one hydrogen atom) are shown in orange, and the spin of the electrons is shown in bright pale blue. (Image: Photonic)

The research team has observed more than 150,000 silicon qubits with center T.

An emitter like the T-center, which combines high-performance spin qubits and optical photon generation, is ideal for making quantum computers in a way that is affordable for industry and easy to implement in society, since this architecture can handle the processing and communications together, instead of needing to interconnect two different quantum technologies, one for processing and one for communications.

In addition, T-hubs have the advantage of emitting light at the same wavelength used by today’s typical metropolitan fiber optic communications and telecommunications network equipment.

The development of silicon-based quantum technology offers the potential to greatly accelerate the deployment of quantum computing. The global semiconductor industry is already capable of manufacturing highly miniaturized silicon chips at low cost and with an astonishing degree of precision. Silicon technology forms the backbone of modern computing and networking, from smartphones to the world’s most powerful supercomputers.

By finding a way to create quantum computing processors in silicon, you can harness all the years of development, knowledge, and infrastructure used to make conventional computers, instead of having to create a whole new industry for making quantum devices, such as Simmons argues.

The Higginbottom, Kurkjian and Simmons team exposes the technical details of their achievement in the academic journal Nature, under the title “Optical observation of single spins in silicon”. (Font: NCYT by Amazings)