Chip-scale 'acoustic atom' controls sound waves to imitate atomic energy levels and advance computing
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. What goes up must come down. Physical laws like these govern all of the natural world—except for the tiny internal components of today's microprocessors, which ...
As the microprocessors that power computers, medical equipment, sensors, and more continue to shrink in size, engineers face challenges controlling quantum-scale systems. But in a step forward for the technology, researchers at Virginia Tech have developed an "acoustic atom"—a chip-scale device that traps and controls sound waves in ways that mimic the behavior of real atoms. Long term, these advances could influence technologies connected to quantum artificial intelligence (AI), telecommunication, medical imaging, GPS, and more.
The research is published in Physical Review Letters by Linbo Shao, assistant professor in Virginia Tech's Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, along with colleagues at the university's Center for Power Electronic Systems, Department of Physics, and Center for Quantum Information Science and Engineering and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
The quantum realm creates multiple challenges for quantum systems, such as scalability, the unintentional interaction of signals, and the limited lifetime of fragile quantum information. Vibration, heat, material defects, and electromagnetic noise also have a great impact at the quantum scale.
The acoustic atom is a chip-scale device, worked on at the microscopic level. Credit: Nathaniel Cranfield / Virginia Tech
Using a special microscope, researchers can work on the acoustic atom at the nearly invisible quantum-scale. Credit: Nathaniel Cranfield / Virginia Tech