Computers & Diamonds

University of Melbourne physicist Steven Prawer says the current generation of computers are power hungry and inefficient, but that quantum computers made using diamonds are a practical way to achieve a significant improvement in computer power without generating more heat. Prawer says quantum computers provide a new paradigm for computing that utilizes exponential processing power through a highly efficient process that does not create heat. Quantum computers will use "qubits" that can be on, off, or both states at the same time depending on the electrons' spin, providing extremely high processing power because messages based on different states can be processed in parallel. Prawer says many quantum computer designs rely on very low temperatures and complex infrastructures to detect the electron spin and protect from being influenced by the outside environment, but diamonds can provide a unique platform for building quantum computers that can operate at room temperature. "All of the things that you would want from a quantum computer have been demonstrated in diamond," says Prawer. Tiny manufactured diamonds with a nitrogen atom at their center can act as a qubit, and the spin of the electrons in the diamond can be manipulated using microwaves or laser pulses. Although true quantum computing is still years away, Prawer says diamonds can already be used for a variety of new engineering and research devices, and that the first quantum device to be commercialized was a diamond-based single photon source used for quantum cryptography.