Quantum Physics

EPFL scientists have achieved a milestone by controlling quantum phenomena at room temperature.

Researchers at Empa and ETH Zurich have developed methods for making perovskite quantum dots faster and more efficient emitters, thereby significantly improving their brightness. This is relevant for applications in displays as well as in quantum technologies.

ETH Zurich is participating in two quantum computing projects that are being financed by IARPA, the US research funding agency, with up to 40 million dollars. Both projects aim to connect two error-corrected qubits with one another and thus lay the foundation for future quantum computers.

Quantum mechanics describes the forces that hold the world together on the smallest scale. The theory of relativity explains the world at the cosmic level. The two seem incompatible – and a unifying theory is nowhere in sight.

Bruno Schuler and his young team are embarking on an ambitious research project: He will selectively generate defects in atomically-thin semiconductor layers and attempt to measure and control their quantum properties with simultaneous picosecond temporal resolu­tion and atomic precision. The resulting insights are expected to establish fundamental knowledge for future quantum computers.

EPFL scientists show that even a few simple examples are enough for a quantum machine-learning model, the “quantum neural networks”, to learn and predict the behavior of quantum systems, bringing us closer to a new era of quantum computing.