Laser was first used to throw and capture single atoms

According to the website of New Scientist magazine in the UK, laser is used to throw and capture single atoms for the first time, which is expected to promote the development of quantum computers.

Photo source: New Scientist magazine website

According to a recent report on the website of the British magazine New Scientist, Korean scientists used lasers for the first time to throw and capture extremely cold single atoms. This technology can be used to assemble quantum computers in the future. Relevant research is published on the website of preprint magazine.

To arrange atoms that are almost as cold as absolute zero (- 273.15 ℃) into different shapes, researchers usually use optical tweezers to grasp and carry them. The researchers of the Korean Academy of Advanced Science and Technology hope to find a way to shorten the contact time between optical tweezers and atoms as much as possible, because lasers will interfere with some properties of atoms.

The research team started with a small box full of rubidium atoms. The temperature of rubidium atoms is only 40 parts per million higher than absolute zero. This super cold atom is very sensitive to the electromagnetic force exerted on it by light. The team took advantage of this feature to make the laser "kick" the atom and accelerate the atom towards the target. Then they turned on another pair of optical tweezers to capture the atom and slow it down until it stopped at the desired position, up to 12.6 microns.

The researchers said that this method could make it easier to build more powerful quantum computers using ultracold atoms. In these computers, each super cold atom stores information, which is arranged into a compact grid, so they can process this information through the interaction between electromagnetic force and adjacent atoms. If an error occurs, the atom needs to be replaced or moved, and the grid can be quickly reconfigured by "throwing" the atom to an appropriate location.

Source: Science and Technology Daily