Japanese researchers have developed a system for producing diamonds of very high purity. Their goal is to use these diamonds as components for quantum computers, thanks to their special properties. Diamonds more than 5 cm in diameter have the capacity to store the equivalent of one billion Blu-ray discs.
Usually, a quantum computer relies on the principles of quantum physics to perform calculations. The second is the application of science that deals with the behavior of matter and light at the microscopic (atomic) level.
When observing matter at this scale, scientists have gradually discovered patterns of activity that are quite contrasting with many classical principles of physics. It was by studying these behaviors that new physical principles emerged. They are still being discovered to this day. One of the specific applications of this type of physics lies in the creation of quantum computers.
A kind of quantum computer.
A typical computer usually takes “bits” as its base of operations. They are the basic unit of information. A bit can be in state 0 or 1. It is on these 0s and 1s that all the more complex codes of a computer are programmed on.
On the other hand, a quantum computer uses “qubits”. Somehow they can be both 0 and 1, in a superposition of states. This is called the “quantum superposition principle”.
In essence, diamonds are a promising storage system for “qubits”, which have been discovered in the last few years. However, creating the ideal diamond suitable for storage at the atomic level is a complex undertaking.
Despite this, the researchers succeeded in creating a diamond just over 5 cm long but with a very high purity. They named it the Kenzan diamond and in terms of memory, it has the capacity to store the equivalent of a billion Blu-ray discs.
Illustration.
For comparison, a single layer Blu-ray disc can hold 25 Gb of data. Meanwhile, the storage capacity of a Kenzan diamond is equivalent to 25 exabytes. This is on par with all the mobile data delivered in the world in a single day.
Scientists hope to commercialize the material by 2023 and are working to double its size to 10 centimeters. Their results will be presented on May 10, 2022 at the International Conference on Compound Semiconductor Manufacturing Technologies.