Physicists Find Way to Boost Photonic Quantum Memory–Laying Foundation for New Quantum-Based Internet

(Phys.org) A joint research team led by Prof. Du Shengwang from HKUST, Prof. Zhang Shanchao from SCNU, Prof. Yan Hui from SCNU and Prof. Zhu Shi-Liang from SCNU and Nanjing University has found a way to boost the efficiency of photonic quantum memory to over 85 percent with a fidelity of over 99 percent.
The team created such a quantum memory by trapping billions of rubidium atoms into a tiny, hair-like space—those atoms are cooled down to nearly absolute zero (about 0.00001 K) using lasers and a magnetic field. The team also found a smart way to distinguish a single photon from the noisy background light. The finding brings the dream of a universal quantum computer a step closer to reality. Such quantum memory devices can also be deployed as repeaters in a quantum network, laying the foundation for a new generation of quantum-based internet.