Keio University and Oxford University Researchers Succeed in Entanglement, Essential for Quantum Computers, In Silicon Semiconductor (Video Available‪)‬

Tokyo, Jan 21, 2011 - (JCN Newswire) - Professor Kohei Itoh, who is developing quantum computers based on silicon semiconductors at Keio University's Faculty of Science and Technology, together with Dr. John Morton at Oxford University and others, has successfully generated and detected quantum entanglement between electron spin and nuclear spin in phosphorus impurities added to silicon. This is the world's first successful generation and detection of entanglement, which is essential for quantum computing, in silicon, which is used as a semiconductor in all computers. This accomplishment constitutes a major breakthrough toward the achievement of quantum computers. "According to Moore's Law, which serves as the index for semiconductor microfabrication, by 2030, individual atoms in silicon will be used for computing," commented Professor Itoh. "The question of whether that kind of computing is possible was the starting point for my research, and as a way of approaching that question, I began to research computing using atoms in silicon. Now, we've performed the first successful experiment on computing using phosphorus atoms in silicon, and been able to create a special state called quantum entanglement. I am glad that this research has led to a world-first result: computing using atoms in silicon, the most important semiconductor."