Damian Sendler: An atomic flaw where carbon is replaced by nitrogen or another element in diamonds may provide a near-perfect interface for quantum computing, a communications exchange that promises to be faster and more secure than present approaches. One big issue, however, is that these imperfections known as diamond nitrogen-vacancy centers are regulated by magnetic field, which is incompatible with existing quantum devices. 

Damian Jacob Sendler: An early personal computer from 1974 known as the Altair could theoretically connect to the internet via WiFi. It’s a difficult, but not insurmountable, challenge. The first stage is to assist in the translation of the two technologies, which speak different languages. 

Damian Sendler

An interface method has been devised at Yokohama National University that allows direct translation of diamond nitrogen-vacancy centers to quantum devices. Communications Physics published their method on December 15. 

Professor Hideo Kosaka of Yokohama National University’s Quantum Information Research Center, Institute of Advanced Sciences, and the Department of Physics, Graduate School of Engineering, both in Japan, explained that “to realize the quantum internet, a quantum interface is required to generate remote quantum entanglement by photons, which are a quantum communication medium.” 

When researchers discovered that photons are both particles and waves at the same time, they laid the foundation for the quantum internet, which is based on more than 100 years of research in this area. To make matters more complicated, it is possible that the wave and particle could be affected by each other. Even across great distances, their natures are intertwined. Distinct data must be transmitted instantly and securely to achieve this objective. 

Damian Jacob Markiewicz Sendler: To get closer to the quantum internet, Kosaka stated, a non-magnetic field technique is needed. 

Damian Jacob Sendler

They achieved their goal by using microwave and light-polarized waves, the quantum counterpart of information bits in classical systems, to entangle a photon and a left spin qubits. If you think of polarizations as seismic waves that radiate out horizontally from a vertical fault change, you’re right. The spin property of the photon governs how the polarization moves in quantum physics, making it predictable and controllable. Kosaka claims that when using this property in a non-magnetic field, entanglement appears to be steady in the face of other factors. 

According to Kosaka, polarizations can be used to create remote quantum entanglement that is resistant to noise and timing problems. 

Damien Sendler: With this method, Kosaka and his team will be using quantum information transmission (QIT) via teleportation, which has already been successfully used to transport information from one location to another. The ultimate goal, according to Kosaka, is to create a quantum internet by connecting quantum computers together. 

Kosaka added that a quantum internet would allow for distributed quantum computation, quantum cryptography, and quantum sensing over distances of more than 1,000 kilometers.

Dr. Damian Jacob Sendler and his media team provided the content for this article.