- Erbium molecular qubits provide precise optical and spin transitions for quantum control
- These qubits allow access to spin states via light compatible with telecommunications
- High-resolution spin-photon interfaces could support development of scalable quantum networks
Scientists have created an erbium-based molecular qubit that provides a way to interface quantum systems with existing fiber networks.
These qubits combine precise optical and spin transitions and enable operations at standard telecommunications wavelengths.
It allows magnetic quantum states to be controlled and read using light compatible with standard fiber optic infrastructure.
High-resolution spin-photon interfaces
This capability could support scalable quantum networks without requiring entirely new communications 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 Research Center for Quantum Information Science.
The team designed organo-erbium molecules to combine strong magnetic interactions with optical transitions in telecommunications bands, creating a controllable and tunable quantum system.
Molecular qubits provide a spin-photon interface at the nanoscale.
“These molecules can act as a nanoscale bridge between the world of magnetism and the world of optics,” said Leah Weiss, a postdoctoral researcher at the UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and co-first author.
Optical spectroscopy and microwave techniques make it possible to approach quantum states with a precision of the order of megahertz.
Such dual control enables connections between spin-based quantum processors or sensors and photonic systems.
These functionalities constitute the potential building blocks of integrated quantum devices and communication networks.
Since the optical transitions of qubits are in the telecommunications bands, they can be integrated into silicon photonics platforms.
This compatibility enables both desktop-level development experiments and large-scale deployment in data centers for broader networked applications.
Qubit design could accelerate the creation of hybrid systems combining optical, microwave and quantum control on a single chip.
These systems also open opportunities in sensing, quantum communication and integrated quantum platforms.
Erbium molecular qubits could be incorporated into systems capable of transmitting, entangling and distributing quantum states over commercial fibers.
This approach allows quantum networks to connect directly to existing optical infrastructures while remaining compatible with classical networks.
“By demonstrating the versatility of these erbium molecular qubits, we are taking the next step toward scalable quantum networks that can connect directly to today’s 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 deployment still requires evaluation under real network conditions.
Challenges remain in integrating these qubits with CPU-based controllers, managing large-scale data center implementations, and ensuring consistent performance.
That said, this work moves the field toward quantum networks, while still requiring extensive testing for widespread adoption.
Via SDxCentral
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