Using the Environment to Control Quantum Devices

(Phys.org) Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) researchers have uncovered how the environment can impact highly sensitive quantum behaviors like localisation. Their findings could lead to future innovations in the design of superconducting materials and quantum devices, including super precise sensors.
One considerable practical challenge remains when producing quantum measuring devices: controlling how they respond to the environment. Real devices are extremely sensitive to noise, which at best reduces their level of precision and at worst leads to unacceptable levels of error.
Understanding how quantum devices respond to noise would help researchers find new ways to protect them from noise, making novel measurement and sensing technologies more feasible. Beyond increasing their accuracy, researchers may even be able to give quantum devices new properties. “If you could tune the amount of noise that these devices experience, you can make them function very differently and get an even more interesting device,” explained Associate Professor Dario Poletti from SUTD, who led the study.