- Erbium Molecular Qubits Provide Precise Optical and Spin Transitions for Quantum Control
- These qubits allow access to spin states through telecommunications-compatible light
- High-Resolution Spin Photon Interfaces Could Support Development of Scalable Quantum Networks
Scientists have created an erbium-based molecular qubit that offers a way to interconnect quantum systems with existing fiber networks.
These qubits combine precise optical and spin transitions and enable operations at standard telecom wavelengths.
It allows controlling and reading magnetic quantum states using light compatible with standard fiber optic infrastructure.
High resolution rotating photon interfaces
This capability could support scalable quantum networks without requiring entirely new communication hardware.
Development was led by scientists at the University of Chicago, in collaboration with UC Berkeley, Argonne National Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Their work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science and the Q-NEXT National Quantum Information Sciences Research Center.
The team designed organoerbium molecules to combine strong magnetic interactions with optical transitions in telecommunications bands, creating a controllable and tunable quantum system.
Molecular qubits provide a nanoscale spin-photon interface.
“These molecules can act as a nanoscale bridge between the world of magnetism and the world of optics,” said Leah Weiss, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and co-first author.
Optical and microwave spectroscopy techniques make it possible to address quantum states with megahertz-level precision.
This dual control enables connections between spin-based quantum sensors or processors and photonic systems.
These features form the potential components of integrated quantum devices and communication networks.
Since the optical transitions of qubits are within telecommunication bands, they can be integrated with silicon photonics platforms.
This support enables both workstation-level experiments for development and large-scale deployment in data centers for broader networked applications.
The design of qubits could accelerate the creation of hybrid systems that combine optical, microwave and quantum control on a single chip.
These systems also open opportunities for sensing, quantum communication, and integrated quantum platforms.
Erbium molecular qubits could be incorporated into systems capable of transmitting, entanglement and distributing quantum states through commercial fiber.
This approach allows quantum networks to connect directly to existing optical infrastructure while remaining compatible with classical networks.
“By demonstrating the versatility of these erbium molecular qubits, we are taking another step toward scalable quantum networks that can connect directly to current optical infrastructure,” said David Awschalom, Liew Family Professor of Molecular Engineering and Physics at UChicago and principal investigator.
Although the results show technical feasibility, practical implementation still requires evaluation under real-world network conditions.
Challenges remain in integrating these qubits with CPU-based controllers, managing large-scale data center deployment, and ensuring consistent performance.
That said, this work moves the field toward quantum networks, although it still needs extensive testing for widespread adoption.
Through SDxCentral
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