Networking future quantum computers to enormously increase their performance is the goal of the quantum internet and an important step forward for its realization comes from the new devices developed by the research group of the Canadian University Simon Fraser, .driven by Michael Thewalt and Stephanie Simmons.
Described in the review Nature, the new devices called T Centers exploit the defects present in microscopic crystals.
"Unlike what happens with traditional computers - commented to ANSA Francesco Saverio Cataliotti, director of the National Institute of Optics of the National Research Council (Ino-Cnr) - networking two quantum computers does not mean doubling the computing capacity but to multiply it ".
While the development of quantum computers, extremely powerful machines in that they are able to exploit some bizarre quantum properties, is proceeding in parallel, a part of the scientific community is developing methods to be able in the future to connect these machines to each other, a sort of internet network but between quantum devices only, not only computers but also sensors.
But to do this it is necessary to create devices capable of 'handling'
A new solution could now come from Canadian researchers who have developed devices called 'T Centers', made of silicon and capable of generating photons that can also be used in existing optical fiber networks.
The heart of these T Centers are crystals characterized by a defect, the presence of a single atom different from all the others: this anomaly allows to manipulate the photons with great precision.
The presence of a single defect on a quantum scale allows to select single photons which, unlike when they aggregate in clouds, continue to maintain their quantum behaviors and generate them with very precise characteristics, ideal for communications.
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