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Category: computing – Page 2

Quantum Heat Waves Spotted at Room Temperature for the First Time

The discovery could improve thermal management in electronics and support advances in quantum and next-generation computing technologies.

Heat usually spreads outward through a solid, making it difficult to control once it begins moving. Until now, a wavelike form of heat transport called phonon focusing had been observed only at extremely low, or cryogenic, temperatures, sharply limiting its study and possible applications.

Researchers at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering have now shown that phonons, quantum vibrations that carry heat through a material, can travel along concentrated, ray-like paths at room temperature. Rather than dispersing evenly in every direction, the heat followed routes determined by the underlying crystal structure, suggesting a new way to direct thermal energy in future electronics and quantum technologies.

UCLA scientists discover how to guide heat like light at room temperature

Scientists have demonstrated that heat can move through a crystal in focused, wave-like rays at room temperature instead of spreading randomly. The breakthrough could make it possible to route heat around sensitive parts of next-generation chips and quantum devices.

New ‘shape-shifting’ architecture brings versatility to photonic quantum computing

Using light to process quantum information is one of the most promising approaches to building future quantum computers. Light particles, known as photons, are excellent carriers of quantum information, but their lack of natural interactions has created a major challenge for researchers seeking to build systems capable of performing a full range of computations.

Now, researchers from Imperial’s Department of Physics and external collaborators have developed a new architecture, called Clavina, that overcomes this longstanding limitation.

Published in Nature Photonics, the study demonstrates a programmable platform that combines both linear and nonlinear quantum operations within a single system, expanding the capabilities of quantum computers that use light.

Just 50°C decides whether an ultrathin magnetic film stays flat or falls apart

Magnetic storage technologies, which store information in the direction of magnetization, play an essential role in modern data storage. Hard disk drives (HDDs) are widely used for long-term storage, while nonvolatile magnetic random-access memory (MRAM) is emerging as a promising alternative to flash memory.

These devices rely on epitaxial ultrathin magnetic alloy films in which two atomic species are arranged in alternating layers along a single crystallographic direction. This structure creates a large magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy (MAE), making the magnetic state more stable and preventing stored bits from accidentally flipping.

The more perfectly ordered the atomic arrangement—measured by the degree of L10 ordering—the greater the MAE and thermal stability of each magnetic bit.

One of the Thinnest Transistor Interfaces Yet Could Reshape Future Chips

A sub-nanometer buffer improved atomically thin transistors, pushing future chips closer to silicon’s limits.

A transistor channel only one atom thick sounds like an ideal foundation for the next generation of computer chips. But surrounding that channel with the materials needed to control it can erase much of its advantage.

Researchers at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU) and TSMC Corporate Research have now demonstrated a possible way around that problem. Instead of developing another semiconductor, they redesigned the tiny interface where the semiconductor meets its insulating layer.

Repurposing deep-Earth tools in the hunt for practical superconductors

If scientists could find a material that acts as a superconductor—that is, one that transmits energy with zero resistance—at normal pressures and relatively high temperatures, it would open up a vast number of possibilities. These include medical imaging, quantum computing and numerous other fields. So, yes, it would be a big deal.

“Right now, almost 50% of the energy in transmission is just heat in copper wires,” said Shomeek Mukhopadhyay. “If you can transmit electricity through wires without dissipating energy, that’s a huge economic benefit. I would say it’s equivalent to having thermonuclear fusion.”

Mukhopadhyay, a research scientist in Chemical & Environmental Engineering, is on the third floor of the Kline Geology Laboratory. Nearby, Natalia Nevskaya, a postdoctoral associate in Earth & Planetary Sciences, prepares a massive device called the Kawai multi-anvil press.

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