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An experiment conducted by researchers at the University of Geneva shows that ytterbium crystals could help the development of future quantum networks. Quantum information can be captured and stored more quickly with rare earth metal.
A rare earth metal, ytterbium, could revolutionize quantum communication. Researchers at the University of Geneva have found a way to store quantum information more quickly. The discovery could help build a global quantum network. The scientists, who collaborated with colleagues from the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in France, report their findings in the current issue of the journal Nature Materials, as announced by the University of Geneva.
Quantum cryptography is considered the future of high security communication. It uses fiber optic cables to travel distances of several hundred kilometers. Quantum cryptography encrypts information so that it can not be intercepted or copied without destroying information. However, the signal can not be amplified accordingly to spread over longer distances. Scientists are therefore studying the quantum stores capable of transmitting the signal by capturing and synchronizing the carriers of information, the photons. In this way, they can spread more and more.
Slow prototypes
Although there are already prototypes of such quantum memories of rare earths, these are hitherto too slow. "The difficulty lies in finding a material that protects the quantum information of the photons against external influences, so that we can keep them for a second to synchronize them," said Mikael Afzelius of the Department of Applied Physics of the University of Geneva. city. To make the memory usable as a repeater, physicists and chemists have also searched for an element capable of storing and restoring high frequency information. Isolation and high frequency storage are two features often excluded
The researchers found the Ytterbium element. When it is exposed to certain magnetic fields, the ytterbium atom enters a state of insensitivity. Therefore, it is no longer exposed to disturbances of the environment. This allows to capture the photon. Scientists are now building quantum storage from Ytterbium, allowing a rapid exchange of information between repeaters. At the same time, they hold the photon long enough to synchronize it. "This material opens up new possibilities for a global quantum network," says Afzelius.
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