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Category: computing

Engineers achieve efficient integration of quantum dot lasers on silicon chiplets

Lasers that are fabricated directly onto silicon photonic chips offer several advantages over external laser sources, such as greater scalability. Furthermore, photonic chips with these “monolithically” integrated lasers can be commercially viable if they can be manufactured in standard semiconductor foundries.

III-V semiconductor lasers can be monolithically integrated with photonic chips by directly growing a crystalline layer of material, such as indium arsenide, on silicon substrate. However, photonic chips with such integrated laser source are challenging to manufacture due to mismatch between structures or properties of III-V semiconductor material and silicon. “Coupling loss” or the loss of optical power during transfer from laser source to silicon waveguides in the photonic chip is yet another concern when manufacturing with monolithically integrated lasers.

In a study that was recently published in the Journal of Lightwave Technology, Dr. Rosalyn Koscica from the University of California, United States, and her team successfully integrated quantum dot (QD) lasers monolithically on silicon photonics chiplets.

Spin currents control device magnetization using low-cost materials

Research from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities gives new insight into a material that could make computer memory faster and more energy-efficient.

The study was recently published in Advanced Materials, a peer-reviewed scientific journal. The researchers also have a patent on the technology.

As technology continues to grow, so does the demand for emerging memory technology. Researchers are looking for alternatives and complements to existing memory solutions that can perform at high levels with low energy consumption to increase the functionality of everyday technology.

OLEDs light the way to faster longer-distance wireless communication

In the race to develop faster and more flexible wireless communication technologies, researchers are turning to an unexpected source: the same organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) found in smartphone screens and TVs.

A recent study by scientists at the University of St Andrews and the University of Cambridge, published in Advanced Photonics, shows that OLEDs can be engineered to transmit data at record-breaking speeds over surprisingly long distances—potentially transforming how we connect devices in the future.

The paper is titled “High-speed based on dinaphthylperylene achieving 4-Gbps communication.”

World’s First Hybrid Chip Combines Electronics, Photonics, and Quantum Power

An interdisciplinary academic team has successfully integrated quantum light sources and control electronics onto a single silicon chip. In a significant advancement for quantum technology, researchers from Boston University, UC Berkeley, and Northwestern University have developed the first chip

Hunting for quantum-classical crossover in condensed matter problems

The intensive pursuit for quantum advantage in terms of computational complexity has further led to a modernized crucial question of when and how will quantum computers outperform classical computers. The next milestone is undoubtedly the realization of quantum acceleration in practical problems. Here we provide a clear evidence and arguments that the primary target is likely to be condensed matter physics. Our primary contributions are summarized as follows: 1) Proposal of systematic error/runtime analysis on state-of-the-art classical algorithm based on tensor networks; 2) Dedicated and high-resolution analysis on quantum resource performed at the level of executable logical instructions; 3) Clarification of quantum-classical crosspoint for ground-state simulation to be within runtime of hours using only a few hundreds of thousand physical qubits for 2d Heisenberg and 2d Fermi-Hubbard models, assuming that logical qubits are encoded via the surface code with the physical error rate of p = 10–3. To our knowledge, we argue that condensed matter problems offer the earliest platform for demonstration of practical quantum advantage that is order-of-magnitude more feasible than ever known candidates, in terms of both qubit counts and total runtime.

Yoshioka, N., Okubo, T., Suzuki, Y. et al. Hunting for quantum-classical crossover in condensed matter problems. npj Quantum Inf 10, 45 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41534-024-00839-4

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Topological quantum processor marks breakthrough in computing

In a leap forward for quantum computing, a Microsoft team led by UC Santa Barbara physicists on Wednesday unveiled an eight-qubit topological quantum processor, the first of its kind. The chip, built as a proof-of-concept for the scientists’ design, opens the door to the development of the long-awaited topological quantum computer.

“We’ve got a bunch of stuff that we’ve been keeping under wraps that we’re dropping all at once now,” said Microsoft Station Q Director Chetan Nayak, a professor of physics at UCSB and a Technical Fellow for Quantum Hardware at Microsoft. The chip was revealed at Station Q’s annual conference in Santa Barbara, and accompanies a paper published in the journal Nature, authored by Station Q, their Microsoft teammates and a host of collaborators that presents the research team’s measurements of these new qubits. (Circa Feb 20 2025)

Microsoft team led by UC Santa Barbara physicists unveils first-of-its-kind topological qubit, paving the way for a more fault-tolerant quantum computer.

German scientists create material that never existed before and could transform semiconductors, lasers, and quantum technology

German scientists have achieved a breakthrough. They have created a novel material, CSiGeSn. This alloy combines carbon, silicon, germanium, and tin. The new compound is stable. Experts believe it will revolutionize electronics and quantum computing. The team used existing chip manufacturing technology. This ensures compatibility. The discovery paves the way for advanced components. It also allows for scalable production.

Scientists successfully develop half metal material that conducts single-spin electrons

Researchers at Forschungszentrum Jülich have successfully created the world’s first experimentally verified two-dimensional half metal—a material that conducts electricity using electrons of just one spin type: either “spin-up” or “spin-down.” Their findings, now published as an Editors’ Suggestion in Physical Review Letters, mark a milestone in the quest for materials enabling energy-efficient spintronic that go beyond conventional electronics.

Half metals are key to spintronics: Unlike traditional conductors, half metals allow only one spin orientation to pass through. This makes them ideal candidates for spintronics, a next-generation information technology that leverages both the charge and the spin of electrons for data storage and processing. In conventional electronics, on the other hand, only the charge is used.

However, all known half metals operate only at and lose their special properties at the surface—limiting their use. This was until now, when the team at Forschungszentrum Jülich engineered a 2D half metal in the form of an ultrathin alloy of iron and palladium, just two atoms thick, on a palladium crystal. Using a state-of-the-art imaging technique called spin-resolved momentum microscopy, they showed that the alloy allows only one spin type to conduct, confirming the long-sought 2D half-metallicity.