The quantum internet has advanced significantly
A new finding might improve quantum hardware communication.
Experts believe that the creation of a so-called quantum internet has just made a big step.
The research, published in the scientific journal Nature(opens in new tab) by a team from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada, provides proof of principle that T centres, a specific luminescent defect in silicon, can provide a ‘photonic link’ between qubits (quantum computing’s counterpart to the binary number or bit of classical computing).
This might be a significant step forward since properly exploiting quantum technology will benefit from communications technology that allows these qubits to join together at scale.
What does all of this mean?
According to the research, these “T centres” have the benefit of generating light at the same wavelength as today’s metro fibre communications and telecom networking equipment.
According to Stephanie Simmons, Canada Research Chair in Silicon Quantum Technologies, this means that you could “build quantum processors that inherently communicate with other processors” and that “when your silicon qubit can communicate by emitting photons (light) in same band used in data centres and fibre networks, you get these same benefits for connecting the millions of qubits required for quantum computing.”
Allowing quantum computing to utilise current communications equipment that is already being used on a large scale in the realm of ordinary silicon computing might be a significant step forward for the nascent technology.
This isn’t the only report in recent weeks implying that the worlds of quantum and traditional computers may be merging.
Nvidia has launched a new platform called Nvidia Quantum Optimized Device Architecture, or QODA for short, that promises to make quantum computing more accessible by developing a coherent hybrid quantum-classical programming approach.
Users working on HPC and AI projects will reportedly be able to utilise the platform to incorporate quantum computing into existing applications, utilising both present quantum processors and simulated future quantum machines.
