The largely dark research lab at IIT Madras is gleaming red and green as lasers pass through diamonds. The lab is part of the research centre at IIT Madras focusing on developing hardware for quantum applications, including for quantum computing and communications using diamond materials.
As India places strategic importance on developing quantum technologies with the National Quantum Mission, hardware is one of the key parts of the puzzle.
Despite best efforts, efficient and large-scale quantum computers are not available at present in the country.
Researchers at the centre, officially called the Quantum Centre of Excellence for Diamond and Emergent Materials (QuCenDiEM), aim to develop materials, devices and instruments for various quantum technologies including quantum computing systems.
“India missed the boat when the silicon revolution happened. We missed a big chunk of the (electronics) hardware market. We need to focus on the material aspect to make sure that when quantum technology comes about, we are not left behind in the hardware sector,” says Vidya Praveen Bhallamudi, assistant professor at the physics department at IIT-M.
But why diamonds?
The centre at IIT Madras chose to focus on diamonds because diamonds have applications across sectors, including electronics. But more importantly, quantum objects, or qubits as they are called, lose quantum properties like entanglement and phase of their superposition state when they interact with the environment -but when isolated, they can be controlled and utilised for computation tasks. “Diamonds provide a unique platform for isolating and controlling quantum objects or qubits,” says the professor.
In order to utilise the diamonds, the researchers first create defects in them called nitrogen vacancy centres. “Defects act as an artificial atom sitting inside the diamond lattice. You can isolate them well. They have magnetic and optical properties which can be utilised for quantum (devices),” says Bhallamudi.
The Quantum Centre also does research on the superconducting properties of diamonds. The researchers have developed a new Boron-Doped Diamond (BDD)-based granular superconductor. MS Ramachandra Rao, principal investigator of QuCenDiEM, and a professor of the physics department at IIT Madras, says that their aim is to further the existing studies to other BDD granular-phases and use them in quantum device fabrication.
Original News Link
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/times-techies/iit-m-is-chasing-the-quantum-realm-with-diamonds/articleshow/111620078.cms
