The development of a new system could facilitate long-range quantum communication, promoting the possible development of the quantum internet.
Researchers from all over the work are working on technology related to quantum computers, which could usher in a new digital age as they will boost current capabilities by orders of magnitude. One of the primary targets is the development of state-of-the-art networks that can send and receive quantum information across a long distance.
Such a network could pave the way towards large-scale quantum computation and advanced cryptography that will keep data safe. However, specific hardware is required for the practical implementation of such a network, including repeaters, which boost the distance that can be traversed by the quantum data and transducers which convert to and from photons.
Physicists Stored Quantum Information in a Diamond, Moving Closer to the Quantum Internet
A team of researchers has managed to build a data note that can decrease the distanced traversed by quantum data by half. This advanced system has to be kept at a temperature of absolute zero or zero degrees Kelvin. It involves the use of a modified diamond, with two of the carbon diamonds being replaced with a single silicon atom. The alteration creates an area where a quantum state can be stored for a limited amount of time.
The system can receive and store quantum states from two different sources, and a synchronization process will lead to the appearance of a secure key which can be used to decrypt and encrypt the messages between the two sources in a safe manner.
It is worth pointing out that the system is not a repeater that can be used to send data between the two points. Still, it marks a significant milestone as it serves an intermediary between the quantum information stored as photons and transmitted from a source and the data note found in the middle. More data on the quantum internet groundbreaking study appear in the journal Nature.
