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Computing breakthrough could elevate security to unprecedented levels
August 17, 2007ANN ARBOR, Mich.---By using pulses of light to dramatically accelerate quantum computers, University of Michigan researchers have made strides in technology that could foil national and personal security threats.
It's a leap, they say, that could lead to tougher protections of information and quicker deciphering of hackers' encryption codes.
A new paper on the results of this research, "Coherent Optical Spectroscopy of a Strongly Driven Quantum Dot," appears in the Aug. 17 issue of Science. Duncan Steel, the Robert J. Hiller Professor at Michigan Engineering's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and the Department of Physics, is one of the lead authors of the paper. Faculty from the University of California-San Diego and the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., also contributed.
The researchers used short, coherent pulses of light to create light-matter interactions in quantum dots---particles so small that the addition or deletion of electrons changes their properties. They found they could control the frequency and phase shifts in the optical network, which is crucial in powering an optically driven quantum computer, Steel said.
Optically driven quantum computers can crack highly encrypted codes in seconds. The fastest of today's desktop computers would require 20 years.
Part of what makes quantum computers so fast is that they are multitask masters.
"Quantum computers are capable of massive parallel computations," Steel said. "That's why these machines are so fast."
And the technology the researchers used to power them in this study is relatively cheap.
"We're particularly excited about our findings because they show that we can achieve these results by using quantum dots and readily available, relatively inexpensive optical telecommunications technology to drive quantum computers," Steel said. "Quantum dots replace transistors in these computers, and our results show that it only takes a few billionths of a watt to drive it."
U-M researchers are using quantum dot systems to pave the way for numerous quantum level applications, such as quantum dot dressed state lasers, optical modulators and quantum logic devices.
University of Michigan
The researchers used short, coherent pulses of light to create light-matter interactions in quantum dots---particles so small that the addition or deletion of electrons changes their properties. They found they could control the frequency and phase shifts in the optical network, which is crucial in powering an optically driven quantum computer, Steel said.
Optically driven quantum computers can crack highly encrypted codes in seconds. The fastest of today's desktop computers would require 20 years.
Part of what makes quantum computers so fast is that they are multitask masters.
"Quantum computers are capable of massive parallel computations," Steel said. "That's why these machines are so fast."
And the technology the researchers used to power them in this study is relatively cheap.
"We're particularly excited about our findings because they show that we can achieve these results by using quantum dots and readily available, relatively inexpensive optical telecommunications technology to drive quantum computers," Steel said. "Quantum dots replace transistors in these computers, and our results show that it only takes a few billionths of a watt to drive it."
U-M researchers are using quantum dot systems to pave the way for numerous quantum level applications, such as quantum dot dressed state lasers, optical modulators and quantum logic devices.
University of Michigan
Quantum Computers Current Events and Quantum Computers News RSSQuantum computers could excel in modeling chemical reactions
Quantum computers would likely outperform conventional computers in simulating chemical reactions involving more than four atoms, according to scientists at Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Haverford College.
First tunable, 'noiseless' amplifier may boost quantum computing, communications
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and JILA, a joint institute of NIST and the University of Colorado (CU) at Boulder, have made the first tunable "noiseless" amplifier.
Fast quantum computer building block created
The fastest quantum computer bit that exploits the main advantage of the qubit over the conventional bit has been demonstrated by researchers at University of Michigan, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory and the University of California at San Diego.
UCSB researchers make milestone discovery in quantum mechanics
Researchers at UC Santa Barbara have recently reached what they are calling a milestone in experimental quantum mechanics.
Physicists produce quantum-entangled images
Using a convenient and flexible method for creating twin light beams, researchers at the Joint Quantum Institute (JQI) of the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Maryland have produced "quantum images," pairs of information-rich visual patterns whose features are "entangled," or inextricably linked by the laws of quantum physics.
Researchers untangle quantum quirk
Quantum computing has been hailed as the next leap forward for computers, promising to catapult memory capacity and processing speeds well beyond current limits. Several challenging problems need to be cracked, however, before the dream can be fully realized.
Weizmann Institute Scientists Find New 'Quasiparticles'
Weizmann Institute physicists have demonstrated, for the first time, the existence of 'quasiparticles' with one quarter the charge of an electron. This finding could be a first step toward creating exotic types of quantum computers that might be powerful, yet highly stable.
Oregon physicists don't flip spin but find possible electron switch
University of Oregon researchers trying to flip the spin of electrons with laser bursts lasting picoseconds (a trillionth of a second) instead found a way to manipulate and control the spin -- knowledge that may prove useful in a variety of new materials and technologies.
McCormick Researchers Take Step Toward Creating Quantum Computers
For now, full-fledged quantum computers are the stuff of science fiction - in last summer's blockbuster movie Transformers, the bad guys use quantum computing to break into the U.S. Army's secure files in just 10 seconds flat.
The future of computing -- carbon nanotubes and superconductors to replace the silicon chip
The future of computing is under the spotlight at the Institute of Physics' Condensed Matter and Materials Physics conference at the Royal Holloway College of the University of London on 26-28 March.
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