Breakthrough heralds step towards quantum computing...

...with benefits for security services such as code cracking

Paper results demonstrate breakthrough for quantum computing

Results released by three top universities following experiments within the field of quantum mechanics could be the first step towards the creation of an affordable quantum computer, according to a paper released in science journal Nature today.

The propensity for an electron to exist in two places at the one time has been controlled in silicon – the most common electronic material – for the first time.

The authors of the paper comprise a UK and Dutch team from the University of Surrey, University College London, Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, and the FOM Institute for Plasma Physics near Utrecht.

The electron was put in two places at once by a far-infrared, very short, high-intensity pulse from a laser called the Dutch Felix laser. The state that was created is called a quantum superposition state.

Professor Ben Murdin, Photonics group leader at the University of Surrey said: “This means the development of a silicon-based quantum computer may be just over the horizon. Quantum computers can solve some problems much more efficiently than conventional computers – and they will be particularly useful for security because they can quickly crack existing codes and create uncrackable codes.

"[We expect] the next generation of devices to make use of these superpositions to do quantum computations.”