Researchers at Laboratoire Kastler Brossel (LKB) in Paris have achieved significant results in the field of quantum memory: they were able to store and retrieve information in quantum bits (qubits). The probability of storing information in qubits previously reached 30 percent, and physicists have increased this figure to 70 percent. Quantum memory is essential for building quantum communication networks, and this achievement has tremendous implications for the future of technology.
The study's lead author, Kong Huang, pointed out in a press release that quantum networks are just one area of application for the new technology. The research text was published in the journal Nature Communications. “In the future, the development can be used for resource-intensive tasks, such as the creation of certification protocols or quantum money, protected from counterfeiting. The development will be fundamental to promising quantum networking research.”
Networking
The researchers transmitted information in photonic qubits to cesium atoms, which were laser-cooled. With the help of a controlled laser beam, the scientists slowed down the light signal carrying information. When the laser was turned off, the signal was contained and the information was transformed into the excitation of the atoms. Qubits have been extracted from a cloud of atoms with over 99 percent accuracy.
Memory is the basic building block of modern computers, and quantum memory will become part of quantum computers. Quantum memory, which exists in the form of ions and crystalline structures, is a space for the interaction of an information carrier in a quantum network (usually a photon) with a physical storage of information. Be that as it may, before the advent of new technology, quantum memory provided storage and retrieval of less than a third of the qubits of information.
If this technology accelerates the emergence of quantum networks, then a new era of technological security is not far off. Quantum networks are almost impossible to hack, and this is especially important, since today a lot depends on data and information. With new networks, current security concerns will disappear and new opportunities for learning and computing power will emerge.
Anton Komarov
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