Nano-Light Sources First Step to Optical Quantum Computers

(ElektorMagazine) Previous circuits on chips rely on electrons as information carriers. In the future, photons that transmit information in optical circuits at the speed of light could also take on this task. The basic building blocks of such novel chips are quantum light sources, which are then connected to quantum optical waveguides and detectors.
An international team led by Technical University Munich (TUM) physicists Alexander Holleitner and Jonathan Finley has now succeeded in producing such quantum light sources in atomically thin material layers and placing them with nanometer precision. “This represents an important first step towards optical quantum computers,” says Julian Klein, first author of the study. “For future applications, the light sources must be coupled to photonic circuits, such as waveguides, in order to enable light-based quantum calculations.