Dark excitons could light up your quantum computer, life

Yeah, we’re still hanging around playing Q*bert and waiting on folks to get those qubits a spinning. Meanwhile, researchers have found a new path to follow on the way to quantum enlightenment. A new, darker path, which entails the use of so-called dark excitons as quantum bits. While doubling as a great name for future robo-gigolos, a dark exciton is an electron-hole pair with parallel spins. The parallel spin, which makes this quasiparticle “dark,” also enables it to be long-lasting and, critically, to be excited with an electrical charge to set its state, a state that can then be read by looking for an emitted photon. Fascinating? Absolutely. Coming to a desktop near you? Not likely — not unless your desktop is kept at a temperature of 4.2 degrees K, anyway. [Image credit: Smite-Meister ] Dark excitons could light up your quantum computer, life originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Nov 2010 10:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

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