Boost for quantum computing
In what could be a boost for quantum computing and communication, a team of European scientists have reported a new method of controlling and manipulating single photons without generating heat.
The solution makes it possible to integrate optical switches and single-photon detectors in a single chip.
The European Quantum Flagship project, S2QUIP, is reported to have developed an optical switch that is reconfigured with microscopic mechanical movement rather than heat, making the switch compatible with heat-sensitive single-photon detectors.
Currently, optical switches work by locally heating light guides inside a semiconductor chip. "This approach does not work for quantum optics," said Samuel Gyger, a researcher from the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.