Qubits — quantum bits which store and process information in quantum computers — can be controlled individually in a 3D structure without disturbing nearby atoms.
Neutral atoms show promise as qubits when they are cooled and trapped by light, but manipulating one atom without disturbing its neighbours is difficult. David Weiss and his team at Pennsylvania State University in University Park controlled a single atom in a 5 × 5 × 5 array of trapped caesium atoms by firing two beams of circularly polarized light so that they intersected at the target atom. This caused the energy levels of electrons in the atom to shift, allowing the researchers to change its quantum state by hitting it with microwaves.
The method should make it easier to scale up quantum computers that use this kind of qubit, the researchers say.
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Qubit control in a 3D matrix. Nature 523, 504 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/523504b
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/523504b
