Information has been ‘teleported’ between two computer chips for the first time, a move that could lead to a more secure ‘quantum internet’, researchers claim.
Experts from the University of Bristol and the Technical University of Denmark were able to ‘instantly send the data’ using a process called ‘quantum entanglement’.
The information was exchanged without electrical or physical contact as the process allows these particles to instantly communicate over large distances.
This is useful in quantum computing and networks as changing one particle will automatically change the other, say researchers from Bristol.
The team say their study could lead to a quantum internet that ‘would ultimately protect the worlds information from malicious attacks’.
Their breakthrough involved creating specially designed and programmable circuits within a chip that are able to generate light particles.
The particles are then able to use quantum entanglement to ‘teleport’ between different chips and maintain instant communication.
The team had a 91 per cent success rate when getting the particles to talk to each other through the specially programmed computer chips.
‘We were able to demonstrate a high-quality entanglement link across two chips in the lab,’ says Dan Llewellyn, co-author of the study.
This new research is important as quantum computers, internet and other technologies rely on ‘quantum information’,’ he said.
‘This is encoded in single particles that are difficult to control and measure’.
Dr Llewellyn and the team have been able to create devices that can generate and manipulate single particles of light within programmable circuits.
The chips they created encode quantum information in light generated inside the circuits, they then process the information with high efficiency.
How does quantum entanglement work?
In quantum entanglement two particles become entwined together.
They are so interconnected that they can continue to ‘communicate’ over long distances.
Changing the properties of one particle causes the other to instantly change as well.
This can happen regardless of the distance separating the two particles – effectively ‘teleporting’ the shared information.
There is no hypothetical limit to the distance between the two particles.
With quantum teleportation, information seems to travel instantaneously, meaning it is potentially moving faster than light.
Einstein called it ‘spooky action at a distance.’
The team says that teleportation is not only useful for quantum communication but is a fundamental building-block of quantum computing.
‘Establishing an entangled communication link between two chips in the lab however has proven to be highly challenging’, they said in a statement.
However, they said their new process will enable higher quality, faster quantum circuits and is one of the most efficient generated to date.
They were also able to show other functionality such as ‘swapping’, a process that is required for quantum networks to operate properly.
They were also able to show a process involving photon states that is needed for the creation of a quantum internet and in quantum computers.
Dr Llewellyn says this is an important step that could lead to the creation of ‘more complex quantum circuits required in quantum computing and communications’.
Lead author, Dr Jianwei Wang said: ‘In the future, integration of quantum photonic devices and classical electronic controls will open the door for fully chip-based CMOS-compatible quantum communication and information processing networks.’
The research was published in the journal Nature Physics.
