Toshiba registers new quantum record

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Researchers a the Cambridge Research Laboratory of Toshiba Europe demonstrated that quantum information can be successfully sent over optical fibres exceeding 600 km in length.

The new record distance will a pave a way for long distance quantum information transfer between metropolitan areas

The experiment is a positive step towards the future quantum Internet, a global network of quantum computers connected by distance communication lines. The quantum Internet will be an ultrafast solution to cloud optimisation problems and be highly secure for communications across the globe.

Toshiba in a release explained that one of the most difficult technological challenges in building the quantum Internet, is the problem of how to transmit quantum bits over long optical fibres. Quantum bit or qubit is the basic unit of quantum information . In traditional computers, information is stored or encoded in bits, while in quantum computers, information is encoded in qubits.

“Small changes in the ambient conditions, such as temperature fluctuations, cause the fibres to expand and contract, thereby scrambling the fragile qubits, which are encoded as a phase delay of a weak optical pulse in the fibre, Toshiba added.

“With this success in Quantum Technology, Toshiba is willing to further expand its quantum business with rapid speed,” Taro Shimada, Chief Digital Officer of Toshiba Corporation said in a statement.

“Our vision is a platform for quantum information technology services, which will not only enable secure communication on a global scale, but also transformational technologies such as cloud-based quantum computing and distributed quantum sensing.”

The details of the advancement are published in the scientific journal, Nature Photonics.