New Invention from U of Copehagen Keeps Qubits of Light Stable at Room Temperature

(KU.dk) Researchers from University of Copenhagen have developed a new technique that keeps quantum bits of light stable at room temperature instead of only working at -270 degrees. Their discovery saves power and money and is a breakthrough in quantum research.
In a recently published study, researchers from University of Copenhagen, demonstrate a new way to store these qubits at room temperature for a hundred times longer than ever shown before.
“We have developed a special coating for our memory chips that helps the quantum bits of light to be identical and stable while being in room temperature. In addition, our new method enables us to store the qubits for a much longer time, which is milliseconds instead of microseconds – something that has not been possible before. We are really excited about it,” says Eugene Simon Polzik, professor in quantum optics at the Niels Bohr Institute.
The special coating of the memory chips makes it much easier to store the qubits of light without big freezers, which are troublesome to operate and require a lot of power. Therefore, the new invention will be cheaper and more compatible with the demands of the industry in the future.
“The advantage of storing these qubits at room temperature is that it does not require liquid helium or complex laser-systems for cooling. Also it is a much more simple technology that can be implemented more easily in a future quantum internet,” says Karsten Dideriksen, a UCPH-PhD on the project.