New Quantum Materials and Devices

Paper ID:

439

Last updated: 31/01/2012 09:08:31

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Where: Global

When: 21-50yrs+

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Keywords:

Quantum simulators; quantum many-body systems; quantum information processing; information storage; new materials; new quantum processes;

Summary

Artificial materials and devices that behave quantum-mechanically, instead of obeying the Newtonian laws of physics that we usually observe in action, display novel physical effects. They may allow new discoveries to be made in physics and permit new devices to be created for applications in many areas of technology, including nanotechnology and electronics.

Discussion

Physical objects that behave quantum mechanically, or quantum systems, exhibit more complex properties than non-quantum objects. The richness of quantum systems means that they are also hard to describe and model, but if they can be controlled, a wide range of technological possibilities opens up. In addition, such control would allow insights into interesting problems in physics, such as the origin of high temperature superconductivity [1] and of turbulence. [2] Because natural quantum systems are hard to regulate, "quantum simulators" have been developed which mimic quantum behaviour but which can be controlled and measured more readily.[3][4][2] They may be used to mimic quantum materials that do not exist naturally but which may have interesting uses, for example in measurement, information processing or in the production of high-power magnets. Preliminary steps in this direction have already been taken, for example with strongly confined quantum gases [5][6]and in quantum metrology [7] with atomic clocks [8] and frequency combs.[9]

Practical quantum devices could include high precision measuring instruments and superconductors (conductors with zero resistance) that work at ever higher temperatures.

There are already quantum devices in use. Most obvious is the laser, which drives everything from bar code readers to DVD players. Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices (SQUIDS) can detect minute magnetic fields and are used in medical imaging and other applications. Quantum cryptography devices have become commercially available and are being further developed by several major IT companies. [10]

Quantum devices being developed at the US government's NIST laboratory will allow forensic scientists to detect when a video or audio tape has been tampered with, or to detect counterfeit money, as the ink used in banknotes is magnetic.[11] Work at Delft Technical University in the Netherlands suggests that a full quantum computer (see Delta Scan 213) is a long way off. But the authors believe [12] that quantum devices will revolutionise sensor technology long before quantum computers become available. As well as improved law enforcement, this could mean more efficient energy generation and use, better-regulated manufacturing processes, and better pollution detection. Such devices could contribute to a world which is more resource-efficient but which could have high levels of surveillance, of people as well as processes.

In future, the miniaturisation of atomic clocks will allow us to incorporate them into more capable portable navigation and communication devices. Higher-temperature superconductors will allow us to build electric motors, electronic networks and strong magnets that consume less energy, perhaps for magnetic resonance imaging or magnetic levitation trains.

Implications

New materials and devices with unprecedented characteristics and performance, e.g. superconductivity at ever higher temperatures
Further miniaturisation of electronic and communication devices
New ways of secure communication (quantum cryptography)
Higher precision in metrology, e.g. atomic clocks and quantum displacement meters
Progress in understanding in quantum many-body physics
Improved - smaller, less power hungry, more accurate - sensors for energy, manufacturing, vehicles and other uses
Some of these emerging new technologies may cause new industry sectors to develop.

Early indicators

Non-quantum sensors squeezed out of the market by quantum devices
Secure communication becomes increasingly based on quantum cryptography
Superconductivity at higher temperatures is achieved. Note that "higher" here is a comparative term. Superconductivity was discovered in materials a few degrees above absolute zero. Now superconductors exist at 90K. This is 183 degrees below freezing, but it is a temperature that can be maintained with liquid nitrogen, an available industrial material. If superconductors can be developed that work at higher temperatures, they will become steadily more economic and simpler to use.
The long-term aim is to develop room-temperature superconductors.

Leaders

Regions:
Europe, Japan, US

Institutions (in alphabetical order):
Imperial College
Laboratoire Kastler Brossel
Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics
MIT
Stanford University
Technical University Delft
University of Innsbruck
University of Mainz
University of Vienna

Drivers & Inhibitors

Drivers
Miniaturisation of electronic devices will soon hit a threshold where quantum effects start to matter
Better understanding of quantum many-particle systems is needed to answer important open questions in physics (e.g. high temperature superconductivity)
Ever increasing demand for smaller, faster and more powerful information processing devices
Rising energy prices will create stronger demand for energetically economic technology

Inhibitors
Lack of funding
Technological developments may not meet economic demands, e.g. because the production costs are too high
Researchers do not focus enough on the dual perspective, both technological advances and scientific progress
Too long-term for industry to be willing to invest

Parallels & Precedents

Parallels
Nanotechnology – nano-scale structures can do things that macroscopic devices cannot

Precedents
Micro-electronics – information processing with silicon based chips
Lasers - from lab curiosity in 1960 to unnoticed underpinning of everyday life today
[1][3][4][2][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]

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Ref.	Publisher	Date	Title	Category
1	Other		J.G. Bednorz and K.A. Müller (1986) 'Possible high Tc superconductivity in the Ba-La-Cu-O system' Z. Phys. B - Condensed Matter 64	Tech
2	Other		M. Greiner, O. Mandel, T. Esslinger, T.W. Hänsch and I. Bloch (2002) 'Quantum Phase Transition from a Superfluid to a Mott Insulator in a Gas of Ultracold Atoms' Nature 415, 39-44	Tech
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4	Other		A. van Oudenaarden and J.E. Mooij (1996) 'One-Dimensional Mott Insulator Formed by Quantum Vortices in Josephson Junction Arrays' Phys. Rev. Lett 76, 4947-4950	Tech
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7	Other		C.F. Roos, M. Chwalla, K. Kim, M. Riebe and R. Blatt (2006) '”Designer atoms” for quantum metrology' Nature 443, 316-319	Tech
8	Other		National Institute of Standards And Technology (USA) Website	Tech
9	Other		R. Holzwarth, M. Zimmermann, Th. Udem, and T.W. Hänsch (2001) 'Optical Clockworks and the Measurement of Laser Frequencies with a Mode-Locked Frequency Comb' IEEE J. Quant. Electr 37, 1493	Tech
10	Other		Wikipedia Link	Tech
11	Other		NIST Quantum Devices Group, Boulder CO	Tech
12	Other		Deflt paper	Tech

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The contents of this paper were provided by the Outsights-Ipsos MORI Partnership. Any views expressed are independent of government and do not constitute government policy.