Synthetic diamond by Element Six achieves quantum-bit memory retention of > 1 s
Ascot, England--Element Six, which produces synthetic diamond photonics and other devices, has teamed up with researchers at Harvard University (Cambridge, MA), California Institute of Technology (Pasadena, CA) and Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik (Garching, Germany) to use its single-crystal synthetic diamond to demonstrate that the duration of a quantum-bit memory can exceed one second at room temperature.
The study showed that synthetic diamond grown by chemical-vapor deposition (CVD) enables the readout of a quantum bit that had preserved its spin polarization for several minutes and its memory coherence for more than a second. This is the first time that such long memory times have been reported for a material at room temperature, giving synthetic diamond a significant advantage over rival materials and technologies that require complexities such as cryogenic cooling.
Impurities of parts per trillion
“The field of synthetic-diamond science is moving very quickly and is requiring Element Six to develop synthesis processes with impurity control at the level of parts per trillion -- real nanoengineering control of CVD diamond synthesis," says Steve Coe, Element Six group-innovation director. "We have been working closely with Professor Lukin’s team in Harvard for three years—this result published in Science is an example of how successful this collaboration has been.”
“These findings might one day lead to novel quantum communication and computation technologies, but in the nearer term may enable a range of novel and disruptive quantum sensor technologies, such as those being targeted to image magnetic fields on the nano-scale for use in imaging chemical and biological processes," says Mikhail Lukin of Harvard University’s Department of Physics.
Synthetic diamond's optical transmission extends from the UV to the far-IR, and the material has a thermal conductivity higher than any other material. Element Six produces optical components such as synthetic-diamond windows for CO2 and other lasers and IR spectroscopy.
Etcetera
(And as a non-photonic note of interest, Element Six also produces synthetic diamond that goes into tweeters for high-end loudspeakers that can reproduce sounds at frequencies of up to 70 kHz. Why would this be needed if the human ear can hear only to about 20 kHz? Well, it ensures that audible frequencies are free of any distortion. In addition, cats can hear up to 64 kHz, so if your cat wants to hear a feline opera inaudible to humans, the speakers could conceivably comply.)
For more info, see: www.e6.com
John Wallace | Senior Technical Editor (1998-2022)
John Wallace was with Laser Focus World for nearly 25 years, retiring in late June 2022. He obtained a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and physics at Rutgers University and a master's in optical engineering at the University of Rochester. Before becoming an editor, John worked as an engineer at RCA, Exxon, Eastman Kodak, and GCA Corporation.