Scientists create first Quantum computer bridge

Sandia researchers demonstrated all the components needed to create a quantum bridge to link, for the first time on a single computer chip.

The joint work with Harvard University used a focused ion beam implanter at Sandia’s Ion Beam Laboratory designed for blasting single ions into precise locations on a diamond substrate.

Above, an array of holes (purple) etched in diamond, with two silicon atoms (yellow) placed between the holes. Credit: Sandia National Laboratories

Sandia researcher Ryan Camacho, said:

“People have already built small quantum computers. Maybe the first useful one won’t be a single giant quantum computer but a connected cluster of small ones.

What we’ve done is implant the silicon atoms exactly where we want them. We can create thousands of implanted locations, which all yield working quantum devices, because we plant the atoms well below the surface of the substrate and anneal them in place. Before this, researchers had to search for emitter atoms among about 1,000 randomly occurring defects—that is, non-carbon atoms—in a diamond substrate of a few microns to find even one that emitted strongly enough to be useful at the single photon level.”

Quantum computing systems would dramatically affect such sectors as telecommunications, healthcare, finance and more.