Future networks built with quantum computers theoretically have security capabilities and speeds that are incomparable to existing computers, but the key to developing quantum networks is to be able to generate individual photons of coded information on demand. Now, the team of Andrei Fior, a professor at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, has developed a nanoscale device that can release a single photon with a precise shape by “sculpting†the shape of a single photon. This latest result published in the magazine "Nature and Communications" takes an important step towards building a secure quantum network.
The shape of the photon is determined by how smoothly the energy it carries is released. Although this process is only one billionth of a second, because most of the energy is released at the beginning of the process, the rest forms a trailing tail, so the shape of the photons is not symmetrical.
Atoms naturally emit a single photon, but the shape of these photons is not accurate enough. Fior and his colleagues found that quantum dots can be used to produce photons with controlled shapes. This quantum dot is actually a semiconductor material that emits a single photon when excited.
According to a report on the Guardian website on December 16 (Beijing time), in order to "carve" these photons, researchers placed the quantum dots in a photonic crystal and let this photonic crystal act as a filter. How the quantum dot photon energy is released determines the shape of the emitted photons, and the energy release can be controlled by applying a voltage, which forces the light to emanated at a steady pace.
Chris Phillips, a professor at the Imperial College in London who did not participate in the study, said: "This is an important step towards being able to create a single photon on demand."
Fior said: "These nanostructures can be integrated into devices and chips. It opens up possibilities for the efficient exchange of photons between quantum chips, and it is expected to be used in future quantum networks."
"This is a very good pillar technology," said Professor Ian Walmsley of Oxford University. "The Quantum Internet has a realistic possibility, but it will not happen right away."
In order to promote the development of quantum technology, the United Kingdom announced in November that it had invested 120 million pounds in the creation of four quantum technology centers led by the University of Birmingham, Glasgow University, Oxford University and York University. They will pay attention to different fields of application of quantum technology. (Reporter Chen Dan)
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