Don’t Try This in Your Garage! Controlling Nuclear Spin States Using Qubits

[ Editor’s note: Ongoing development of quantum storage is a fascinating journey. Sharing a PhysOrg excerpt with you today. Erica P. Wissinger ]

Chaining Atoms together Yields Quantum Storage

First published in PhysOrg on Feb. 16, 2022

Engineers at Caltech have developed an approach for quantum storage that could help pave the way for the development of large-scale optical quantum networks.

The work, which is described in a paper published on Feb. 16 in the journal Nature, utilizes a quantum bit (or qubit) made from an ion of ytterbium (Yb), a rare earth element also used in lasers.

The team, led by Andrei Faraon, professor of applied physics and electrical engineering, embedded the ion in a transparent crystal of yttrium orthovanadate (YVO₄) and manipulated its quantum states via a combination of optical and microwave fields.

The team then used the Yb qubit to control the nuclear spin states of multiple surrounding vanadium atoms in the crystal.

“Based on our previous work, single ytterbium ions were known to be excellent candidates for optical quantum networks, but we needed to link them with additional atoms. We demonstrate that in this work,” says Faraon, the co-corresponding author of the Nature paper.

The device was fabricated at the Kavli Nanoscience Institute at Caltech, and then tested at very low temperatures in Faraon’s lab.

Read more at PhysOrg

The Discovery of Rare Earth Element Ytterbium in Sweden

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Turn on the “cc” and listen at 1.25 speed. It gets interesting around the 46-minute mark, so you can jump around and find your groove.

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