Ever since the concept of quantum computers came into effect, researchers are running a race to fulfil that dream. Fortunately, they have found a sparkly substance on their way to the endpoint. Yes, they are diamonds. For people working on quantum computers, a diamond is more than just a gem. Over the past few years, the quantum computing industry has drastically evolved and the involvement of diamonds in quantum computers has also intensified. Recent research by a group of scientists has proved that elastic diamonds could help quantum computers run at room temperature.
Scientists often press the point that diamonds are underrated. You might wonder how? Because diamond is one of the expensive products on the earth and we use it for very special occasions. But from a scientist’s point of view, diamond is more than a substance used to make jewellery. At the turn of the 20th century, theoretical and experimental scientists were grappling to understand how the universe worked at small scales. The answer was quantum mechanics. Moving further, many quantum computing-powered technologies like lasers and transistors emerged to impact our daily life. The challenge of developing quantum computers is that the quantum states are so fragile and they isolate themselves from everything else. In order to effectively interact with quantum computers, we require materials like a diamond that could act as an intermediate. After coming to the solution that diamonds are the best source of communicator, many researchers are employing the substance to improvise quantum computers performance.
Recently, Quantum Brilliance, a start-up working on quantum technology has unveiled marked ready, diamond-based quantum computer at the size of a server rack module. They also envision creating quantum computers that are at the size of a graphic card by 2026. On the other hand, artificial atoms like the nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond enable the realization of fully functional qubits in a solid at room temperature. The functionalities of all the parts needed to create a quantum computer, such as quantum error correction, couplings, quantum teleportation, and a quantum repeater, have already been experimentally demonstrated. As a phase of development to the improving influence of diamond in quantum computing, researchers have tried their hand on elastic diamond being used as a vital product in next-generation electronics, including quantum computer chips.
Using elastic diamond in quantum computers
The researchers have used a diamond that is a hundred times thinner than a human hair that can bend up to 10% of its original shape at room temperature. Diamonds are the key substance that powers electronics that are smaller, faster, and more efficient compared to other products we use on daily basis.
The authors of the study constantly press that overcoming limitations in the material’s crystalline structure, as well as optimizing its ‘figures-of-merit’ makes it a good match for electronic systems. One of the co-authors of the study, Ju Li, Professor of Material Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, points that the bandgap is a convenient indicator of how much the physical properties of a well-known material can change with elastic strains.
In the recent development, the researchers have checked on the flexibility of diamond grown in their lab with a substance called a nanoindenter, a microscopic battering ram. The team used the tiny battering ram to see how the diamond takes the strains and later also examined the structure of the substance post the testing. As a result, the researchers found that they could achieve a strain between 6.5% and 8.2% with full recovery of the form when pushed from three different directions. On an overall scale, the team observed a maximum strain of 9.7% which could help quantum computers function at room temperature.