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Quantum information

Best of both worlds

Nature Materials volume 12, pages 97–98 (2013)Cite this article

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Both electronic and nuclear spins have their pros and cons for quantum information processing. A silicon-based hybrid electronic–nuclear system can make the best of both properties.

Generally speaking, quantum states are fragile and quantum information is easily lost in solid-state materials due to environmental noise. An ideal qubit should therefore be able to preserve the quantum information for long timescales. The state of a qubit can be illustrated as a vector (Fig. 1), and the effect of the environmental noise is to randomize its orientation, which implies leakage of the quantum information it stores (Fig. 1c). Owing to their small magnetic moments, nuclear spins are orders of magnitude less sensitive to noise compared with their electron counterparts (Fig. 1d). Consequently the quantum information can be preserved for timescales lasting up to minutes. In this regard, nuclear spins are considered as the most promising candidates for quantum memories.

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Figure 1: A hybrid qubit.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing Computational Science Research Center, Beijing, 100084, China

    Nan Zhao

  2. Physikalisches Institut and Research Center SCOPE, University Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 57, Stuttgart, 70569, Germany

    Jörg Wrachtrup

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  1. Nan Zhao
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  2. Jörg Wrachtrup
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Correspondence to Nan Zhao or Jörg Wrachtrup.

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Zhao, N., Wrachtrup, J. Best of both worlds. Nature Mater 12, 97–98 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat3531

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