The First Photon ‘SCALAK'

Holographic memory atomic invented and constructed by physicists from the University of Warsaw, is the first device capable of generating single photons in groups of at least several dozen.

Completely secure, quantum high-speed link, and even the construction of one of the varieties of quantum computers - you can use a new source of single photons built at the Faculty of Physics. For the first time, it allows on-demand to produce not a single photon, but their large, carefully controlled group.

- In relation to existing solutions and ideas, our device has a much higher efficiency and scale of integration. In the functional sense, you can even think about it, how about running on single photons first equivalent of a small chip - says dr. Wojciech Wasilewski from the FUW.

Single photons can be used, for example today. To realize that guarantee full confidentiality of quantum communication protocols. To perform complex quantum computation would be needed, however, whole groups of photons.

In 2013, a team of British physicists from the Universities of Oxford and London offered efficient protocol manufacturing groups photons. It was calculated that waiting for a group of 10 photons skracałoby of years to microseconds. Presented at the FUW source is the first realization of this idea.

- All our experimental system is on the table optical surface about two square meters. All the most important things are happening in the same memory, however, that a cylinder with a length of approx. 10 cm and a diameter of 2.5 cm. The interior of the cylinder is filled only a pair of rubidium 87Rb, located at 60-80 degrees Celsius - describes Michael Dabrowski, PhD FUW.

New memory, built by grants Prelude and Sonata National Center for Science and the measures of the project PhoQuS @ UW is spatially multimode: individual photons can be placed, stored, processed and read in different areas of the space inside the cylinder acting as separate memory cells.

The Persistence of Memory quantum built on the FUW ranges from several to tens of microseconds, which allows you to perform simple operations on the photons in the time counted in nanoseconds. This time is sufficient for quantum communication (eg. The optical fiber transmission photons), and processing. The device removes another obstacle to the construction of one of the varieties of quantum computers, which would make a very quick calculations.