Better control of building blocks for quantum computer

(Beeld: print artist orbit spin qubit.) In a toy I - I, moving one electron controls its rotation. Credit: Gemma Plum) researchers at the Kavli Institute of nanoscience at the Technical University of Delft and Eindhoven University of Technology have succeeded in controlling the ultrafast quantum computer building blocks future. You are now able to manipulate these blocks construction (qubits) with electric instead of magnetic interference, as it has been common practice so far. They have also been able to incorporate these qubits in semiconductor Nanowires. Conclusions of scientists reported in the current edition of the scientific journal Nature (23 December).

Spin
A qubit is the future creation of a quantum computer can block, which far exceeds current teams in terms of speed. One way of doing a qubit is to catch a single electron in a semiconductor material. A qubit can, as well as a bit of the normal equipment, adopted by the States '0' and '1'. This is accomplished through the use of an electron, which is generated by turning on its axis electron rotation. The electron can rotate in two directions (representing State ' 0 'and the status of ' 1').

Electrical rather than magnetic.

Until now, the electron spin has been controlled by magnetic fields. However, these field are extremely difficult to generate in a chip. The spin of electrons in the qubits that currently being generated by Dutch researchers can be controlled by a charge or an electric field instead of magnetic fields. This form of control has great advantages, such as Leo Kouwenhoven, the Kavli Institute of nanoscience at TU Delft, scientist says: "these qubits spin-órbita combine the best of both worlds." "Use the advantages of electronic control and storage in the electron spin".

Nanowires.

There is another important novelty in the Dutch research: researchers have been able to incorporate the qubits (two) in Nanowires made of semiconductor material (Indium Arsenide). These cables are of the order of nanometres in diameter and micrometers in length. Kouwenhoven: "these Nanowires are being increasingly used as a convenient building blocks in nanoelectronics." "Nanowires are an excellent platform for cross other applications of quantum information processing".