{"id":176162,"date":"2025-06-11T16:53:09","date_gmt":"2025-06-11T16:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/176162\/"},"modified":"2025-06-11T16:53:09","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T16:53:09","slug":"harnessing-magnons-for-a-quantum-computing-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/176162\/","title":{"rendered":"Harnessing magnons for a quantum computing future"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBYLINE:<\/strong> Lea E. Radick\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Researchers have figured out how to use magnons \u2014 collective vibrations of the magnetic spins of atoms \u2014 for next-generation information technologies, including quantum technologies with magnetic systems.<\/p>\n

From the computer hard drives that store our data to the motors and engines that drive power plants, magnetism is central to many transformative technologies. Magnetic materials are expected to play an even larger role in new technologies on the horizon: the transmission and processing of\u00a0quantum information<\/a>\u00a0and the development of quantum computers.<\/p>\n

New research led by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy\u2019s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory developed an approach to control the collective magnetic properties of atoms in real time and potentially deploy them for next-generation information technologies. This discovery could aid in developing future quantum computers, which can perform tasks that would be impossible using today\u2019s computers, as well as\u00a0\u200b\u201con chip\u201d technologies \u2014 with magnetic systems embedded on semiconductor chips, or\u00a0\u200b\u201con chip.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Argonne-led team\u2019s breakthrough exploits the fact that every atom has its own magnetic spin \u2014 like a miniature compass needle. When these spins all move together, they create a wave or\u00a0\u200b\u201cexcitation\u201d called a magnon. The researchers\u2019 method makes it possible to control magnons in real time, harnessing their information-processing potential.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThis work shows how magnetic excitations can be transferred remotely and perform interference operations in real time, potentially benefiting quantum computing<\/a>. While the true potential isn\u2019t clear yet, it provides a prototype model for future exploration.\u201d \u2014 Yi Li, Argonne scientist<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThese capabilities are essential for advancing quantum communication and computing,\u201d said Yi Li, an Argonne assistant scientist and a lead author of the study reporting these results.<\/p>\n

For this research, the scientists used two small magnetic spheres made of a material called yttrium iron garnet. They connected the spheres on a chip with a superconducting resonator. This setup allowed the researchers to send and receive magnon signals between the two distant spheres.<\/p>\n

The team sent out a single pulse of energy, which traveled back and forth between the two spheres in sync with each other. This oscillation showed that energy can be transferred\u00a0\u200b\u201ccoherently<\/a>\u201d or in a well understood pattern between the spheres, much like a clear telephone conversation between two people speaking from afar.<\/p>\n

The researchers discovered that if two energy pulses were sent through the magnetic chip setup, the pulses either mutually strengthened each other or one pulse canceled the other, depending on the time delay between them. These findings showed that magnons can interfere with each other, similar to how waves in water can create patterns when they overlap.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the team found that this interference property persists because the two spheres are able to remain magnetically\u00a0\u200b\u201ccoupled,\u201d or capable of storing the energy from the pulses traveling between them. This is similar to how a quantum state can transfer between two qubits \u2014 or quantum bits \u2014 in a quantum computer.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, by sending multiple energy pulses, the scientists created intricate interference patterns, similar to the appearance of light when diffracted into different beams. This shows the potential for complex signal and transmission operations using magnons.<\/p>\n

The team\u2019s findings indicated that magnetic excitation in their on-chip setup achieved what Li called\u00a0\u200b\u201cnearly perfect interference\u201d \u2014 a key requirement for harnessing the potential of magnons in a variety of settings. Their approach could open new ways of processing information using magnons, with implications for the development of quantum computers and other advanced technologies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis work shows how magnetic excitations can be transferred remotely and perform interference operations in real time, potentially benefiting quantum computing<\/a>,\u201d Li said.\u00a0\u200b\u201cWhile the true potential isn\u2019t clear yet, it provides a prototype model for future exploration.\u201d<\/p>\n

The use of magnetic materials to process quantum information could empower a quantum computer with supplemental functionalities that are specific to those systems. For example, magnetic materials could be used to build on-chip isolators that help suppress quantum\u00a0\u200b\u201cnoise\u201d and improve clarity in a quantum computer. They could also convert microwave signals into optical signals, which is crucial for connecting different parts of a quantum system.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are challenges and opportunities in materials science and understanding physics. This work is about beautiful physics on a chip, involving superconducting circuits and low-damping magnetic materials. It\u2019s a significant piece of work,\u201d said Argonne Distinguished Fellow Valentine Novosad, a senior materials scientist and another author of the study.<\/p>\n

This new research builds on previous papers published in\u00a0superconductivity<\/a>-for-quantum-discoveries” target=”_blank”>2019\u00a0and\u00a02022<\/a>\u00a0to further explore how to couple magnetization and superconductivity<\/a>, and how magnons in yttrium iron garnet spheres can be manipulated to store information and for sophisticated information processing tasks.<\/p>\n

The magnonic devices were fabricated at the Center for Nanoscale Materials, a\u00a0DOE\u00a0Office of Science user facility at Argonne.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0paper<\/a>\u00a0based on the research was published in the April 2025 issue of Nature Communications.<\/p>\n

Other authors of the study include Tomas Polakovic, Thomas Cecil, John Pearson, Ralu Divan, Wai-Kwong Kwok and Ulrich Welp from Argonne; Moojune Song and Kab-Jin Kim from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology; and Axel Hoffmann and Jinho Lim from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.<\/p>\n

DOE\u2019s Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences funded this research.<\/p>\n

About Argonne\u2019s Center for Nanoscale Materials<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Center for Nanoscale Materials is one of the five\u00a0DOE\u00a0Nanoscale Science Research Centers, premier national user facilities for interdisciplinary research at the nanoscale supported by the\u00a0DOE\u00a0Office of Science. Together the NSRCs comprise a suite of complementary facilities that provide researchers with state-of-the-art capabilities to fabricate, process, characterize and model nanoscale materials, and constitute the largest infrastructure investment of the National Nanotechnology Initiative. The NSRCs are located at\u00a0DOE\u2019s Argonne, Brookhaven, Lawrence Berkeley, Oak Ridge, Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories. For more information about the\u00a0DOE\u00a0NSRCs, please visit\u00a0https:\/\/\u200bsci\u200bence\u200b.osti\u200b.gov\/\u200bU\u200bs\u200be\u200br\u200b-\u200bF\u200ba\u200bc\u200bi\u200bl\u200bi\u200bt\u200bi\u200be\u200bs\u200b\/\u200bU\u200bs\u200be\u200br\u200b-\u200bF\u200ba\u200bc\u200bi\u200bl\u200bi\u200bt\u200bi\u200be\u200bs\u200b-\u200ba\u200bt\u200b-\u200ba\u200b-\u200bG\u200blance<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Argonne National Laboratory<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology by conducting leading-edge basic and applied research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne is managed by\u00a0UChicago Argonne,\u00a0LLC<\/a>\u00a0for the\u00a0U.S. Department of Energy\u2019s Office of Science.<\/a><\/p>\n

The U.S. Department of Energy\u2019s Office of Science<\/strong>\u00a0is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit\u00a0https:\/\/\u200bener\u200bgy\u200b.gov\/\u200bs\u200bc\u200bience<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BYLINE: Lea E. Radick Researchers have figured out how to use magnons \u2014 collective vibrations of the magnetic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":176163,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3164],"tags":[3284,14822,53,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-176162","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-computing","8":"tag-computing","9":"tag-newswise","10":"tag-technology","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114665776943502944","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=176162"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176162\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/176163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=176162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=176162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=176162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}