As researchers rush to develop powerful quantum computers, a handful of physical platforms have emerged as prime contenders for use as quantum bits, or qubits. They include trapped ions, superconductors, photons, quantum dots, and spins in solid-state hosts. David Weiss and Mark Saffman make the case for using neutral atoms as qubits.
Neutral atoms are all identical and can readily be prepared by optical pumping in well-defined initial states. Their qubit states can be precisely measured using fluorescence. And in some cases they can be well isolated from the environment, which allows for long decoherence times; last year, more than seven seconds was demonstrated for an array of single atoms. Most notably, many atoms can be trapped in close proximity without affecting each other’s quantum states unless they are called on to do so.
Interesting article via Physics Today:http://physicstoday.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/PT.3.3626
Image:
This hexagonal vacuum cell was used for quantum gate experiments in a 49-site, two-dimensional array at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The cell was fabricated by ColdQuanta Inc out of antireflection-coated pieces of glass. The all-glass construction provides access for numerous laser beams to cool and trap atoms and to control an array of qubits.
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