Researchers have discovered an entirely new way of generating “indistinguishable photons,” the hard-to-create sources of energy we need to power quantum computers. It’s a crucial step in our development of quantum technology, and naturally, ties back to artificial intelligence. The research was published Tuesday in the journal Applied Physics Letters.
The phrase “indistinguishable photons” refers to them being indistinguishable from each other, and they’re a vital source of energy for quantum computers. A regular computer processes and stores information in binary, meaning the bits are always either 0 or 1. A quantum computer, though, harnesses principles of quantum mechanics so that the bits (cutely named “qubits”) can also be 0 and 1 simultaneously.
Scientists at the University of Tsukuba and Japan’s National Institute for Materials Science forged a new path for creating indistinguishable photons by testing the nitrogen impurity centers within III-V compound semiconductors. The elements within those centers facilitate a state of energy called an “isoelectronic trap,” which generates photons that contain the same energy — and are therefore indistinguishable.
This research marks the first time anyone’s used the nitrogen luminescence centers found within certain semiconductors to create the phenomenon. There are already a few established sources for generating identical photons, namely semiconductor quantum dots (an entirely separate rabbit hole you may fall down here if you are so inclined). But this new method is potentially faster and more conducive to the photons’ homogeneity, which isn’t always precise enough when created through the requisite huge numbers of quantum dots (more dots = more variability in charge).
To read more, click here.