Category Physics

Microlaser Chip adds New Dimensions to Quantum Communication

The four eigenstates of the Feng Lab photon
With only two levels of superposition, the qubits used in today’s quantum communication technologies have limited storage space and low tolerance for interference. The Feng Lab’s hyperdimensional microlaser (above) generates qudits, photons with four simultaneous levels of information. The increase in dimension makes for robust quantum communication technology better suited for real-world applications.

Doubling the quantum information space of commercial technologies, this new chip is better suited for real-world application. Researchers at Penn Engineering have created a chip that outstrips the security and robustness of existing quantum communications hardware. Their technology communicates in “qudits,” doubling the quantum information space of any previous on-chip laser.

Lian...

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New Quantum Tool Developed in Groundbreaking Experimental Achievement

Advance of Quantum Wave

Scientists recreate properties of light in neutral fundamental particles called neutrons. For the first time in experimental history, researchers at the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) have created a device that generates twisted neutrons with well-defined orbital angular momentum. Previously considered an impossibility, this groundbreaking scientific accomplishment provides a brand new avenue for researchers to study the development of next-generation quantum materials with applications ranging from quantum computing to identifying and solving new problems in fundamental physics.

“Neutrons are a powerful probe for the characterization of emerging quantum materials because they have several unique features,” said Dr...

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Researchers Unlock Light-Matter Interactions on Subnanometer Scales, Leading to ‘Picophotonics’

picophotonics in the 3D lattice of silicon atoms
The figure above demonstrates picophotonics in the 3D lattice of silicon atoms. The red wave represents the conventional electromagnetic wave propagating in the solid. The blue inner wave represents the new predicted picophotonic wave.  Graphic provided by Dr. Zubin Jacob.

Researchers at Purdue University have discovered new waves with picometer-scale spatial variations of electromagnetic fields that can propagate in semiconductors like silicon. The research team, led by Dr. Zubin Jacob, Elmore Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Department of Physics and Astronomy, published their findings in Physical Review Applied in a paper titled “Picophotonics: Anomalous Atomistic Waves in Silicon.”

“The word microscopic has its origins in the length scale of a micro...

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An On-Chip Time-Lens Generates Ultrafast Pulses

illustration of time lens
A time lens transforms a continuous-wave, single-color laser beam into a high-performance, on-chip femtosecond pulse source. (Credit: Second Bay Studios/Harvard SEAS)

Femtosecond pulsed lasers—which emit light in ultrafast bursts lasting a millionth of a billionth of a second—are powerful tools used in a range of applications from medicine and manufacturing, to sensing and precision measurements of space and time. Today, these lasers are typically expensive table-top systems, which limits their use in applications that have size and power consumption restrictions.

An on-chip femtosecond pulse source would unlock new applications in quantum and optical computing, astronomy, optical communications and beyond...

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