A New Spin on Quantum Electronics

量子电子学的新自旋 米歇尔·皮奥罗-拉德里埃尔教授，物理学博士 舍布鲁克大学量子学院 粒子的自旋与其运动的相互作用引起了物理学中令人着迷的现象，例如一个粒子变成了它自己的反粒子。这种所谓的自旋-轨道相互作用也是探索从自旋晶体管到量子计算机的几种新技术应用的基础。大多数研究使用的是自旋-轨道相互作用自然产生的特定材料。或者，定制的磁场迫使自旋与其运动相耦合。这种方法允许在自旋-轨道相互作用的控制和设计方面有更大的灵活性，因为它适用于广泛的材料类别。利用这一优势，研究人员最近实现了量子计算中性能最高的基准之一，方法是在一种原本效率低下的自旋轨道性质的超高相干材料中实现快速自旋轨道控制。此外，它允许一个物体的第一个量子叠加，同时是微观和宏观的。发现号的研究计划建立在这一强大的方法之上，该方法由半导体自旋的首席研究员首创，并将其扩展到更大规模的系统。这种人工自旋-轨道耦合的多尺度研究为量子物理学提供了一个新的研究方向，其在5年研究结束时预测和令人着迷的结果是 1)证明了在半导体内部自由运动的电子可以通过强迫其自旋与其运动相互作用而处于两种可能路径的量子叠加； 2)观察到将电子结合在一起形成超导对，并迫使它们的自旋与它们在一维半导体中的运动相互作用，产生了新的粒子，即它们的反粒子； 3)展示了这些非凡的设备可以一个原子一个原子地制造，也可以用硅技术制造，有效地创建了一个芯片上的量子物理实验室。 这个芯片实验室是量子信息科学、量子材料和量子工程的接口。它将有助于加拿大正在进行的强大科学的进步和新量子技术的开发，这些技术正在通过大公司、几家初创公司和微软、英特尔和加拿大拥有的D-Wave Systems等公司的大量投资逐渐改变我们的社会。 这一固有的多学科研究项目将培养一支由年轻的理论家、实验家、工程师和企业家组成的团队。Quantique研究所的前瞻性培训方法和卓越的研究基础设施将为他们提供的不仅仅是不断增长的量子行业的抢手技能，它还将培训将加速量子革命的领导者。

A New Spin on Quantum Electronics by Prof. Michel Pioro-Ladrière, PhD in Physics Institut Quantique, Université de Sherbrooke The interaction of a particle's spin to its motion gives rise to fascinating phenomena in physics, such as a particle becoming its own antiparticle. This so-called spin-orbit interaction is also a basis of exploration towards several novel technological applications from the spin transistor to the quantum computer. Most investigations use specific materials in which the spin-orbit interaction arises naturally. Alternatively, tailored magnetic fields force the spin to couple to its motion. This approach allows for greater flexibility in the control and design of the spin-orbit interaction, because it is applicable to a wide class of materials. Using this advantage, researchers recently achieved one of the highest performing benchmarks in quantum computing by enabling fast spin-orbit control in an ultra-high coherence material of otherwise inefficient spin-orbit properties. Moreover, it allowed the first quantum superposition of an object being both microscopic and macroscopic at the same time. This Discovery research program builds on this powerful approach, pioneered by the principal investigator for semiconductor spins, and expands it to larger-scale systems. This multi-length scale investigation of artificial spin-orbit coupling offers a new research direction in quantum physics, whose forecasted and fascinating outcomes at the end of the 5-years of research are 1) The demonstration that an electron travelling freely inside a semiconductor can be in a quantum superposition of two possible paths by forcing its spin to interact with its motion; 2) The observation that binding electrons together into superconducting pairs and forcing their spin to interact with their motion inside a one-dimensional semiconductor creates new particles that are their antiparticles; 3) The demonstration that these extraordinary devices can be manufactured atom by atom or from silicon technology, effectively creating a quantum physics lab on a chip. This lab on a chip is an interface in quantum information science, quantum materials and quantum engineering. It will contribute to the advancement of the strong science being conducted in Canada and the development of new quantum technologies that are gradually transforming our society with massing investments from major corporations, several start-ups and companies such as Microsoft, Intel and Canada-own D-Wave Systems. This inherently multidisciplinary research program will train a team of young theorists, experimentalists, engineers and entrepreneurs. The forward-thinking approach to training and exceptional research infrastructure at Institut Quantique will provide them with much more than the sought-after skills of the growing quantum industry, it will train the leaders that will accelerate the quantum revolution.