German researchers have devised a technique of creating self-assembled nanodiamond quantum bits (qubits) that could form the basis of quantum computers and storage devices that, unlike every other quantum tech that we’ve seen on ET, could operate at room temperature.
There are many ways of storing quantum data — atom spin, electron spin, photon spin. There are also many different mediums that can act as qubits, too — single atoms, laser light, whole molecules.
One combination excels above all others, though: Storing photons in a diamond nitrogen-vacancy center. This is essentially a diamond molecule (carbon atoms), with a single nitrogen atom replacing one of the carbons. It turns out that this nitrogen atom is remarkably good at storing photons, including the quantum data they carry, for incredibly long periods (milliseconds). More importantly, while virtually every other qubit material must be kept at cryogenic temperatures, diamond-nitrogen qubits can do this at room temperature without suffering from decoherence.
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