14 DAY TRIAL // Being able to control the pathways of light inside a very small microchip is one of the most important goals of researchers looking into quantum communications. Up until now, reaching this objective has proven to be very difficult to reach, and so experts have now turned their attention on a less standard approach. They are proposing using miniaturized television-like antennas, no larger than a few nanometers, to perform this function. According to the investigators who have looked into the possibilities this method offers, it may be that achieving quantum communications is now easier than ever, Nature News reports.
The secret to using these small antennas, the group behind the work says, is to construct them out of gold. Experts say that this is the only way of ensuring that the light emitted from a variety of quantum experiments is accurately redirected through the chip, and that it is encoded according to specifications. “We must know where and when photons are emitted if we want to collect them efficiently and perform advanced tasks,” explains quantum nanostructures expert Jason Smith, who is based in the United Kingdom, at the University of Oxford.
Ironically, as many particle physicists know, controlling light at this point implies the construction of impressive scientific equipment, that it both very large, and also too expensive for practical, large-scale applications. Scientists, for example, build very large cavities, whose walls are covered in reflective mirrors, that guide light according to specifications. “It's funny that to control the small quantum world, you need huge pieces of equipment,” explains Hiroshima University Department of Quantum Matter scientist, Holger Hofmann.
The expert is also the leader of the team that managed to develop the nanoscale method of redirecting light. The foundation of their work is the “Yagi-Uda” antenna, which is more commonly known as the TV antenna, and can be seen on many rooftops. These instruments are generally used to detect and transmit radio waves, and Hofmann got the idea that they could work at the nanoscale after teaching their basic work principles to a class of students. “The textbook didn't explain it well, and while trying to come up with my own picture, I realized that the same technique could work on the nanoscalw,” he said of using the Yagi-Uda antennas.