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Category: computing – Page 81

Quantum computers and quantum communication are groundbreaking technologies that enable faster and more secure data processing and transmission compared to traditional computers. In quantum computers, qubits serve as the fundamental units of information, functioning as the quantum mechanical equivalent of bits in classical computing.

Where, for example, laser pulses in a glass fiber transport information from A to B in classical digital communication, quantum mechanics uses individual photons. In principle, this makes it impossible to intercept the transmitted data. Qubits that are optically addressable (can be controlled or read out with light) are suitable for storing the photons’ information and processing it in quantum computers. The qubits can store and process quantum states, and absorb and emit them in the form of photons.

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China’s efforts to scale up the manufacture of superconducting quantum computers have gathered momentum with the launch of the country’s independently developed third-generation Origin Wukong, said industry experts on Monday.

The latest quantum computer, which is powered by Wukong, a 72-qubit indigenous superconducting quantum chip, has become the most advanced programmable and deliverable superconducting quantum computer currently available in China.

The chip was developed by Origin Quantum, a Hefei, Anhui province-based quantum chip startup. The company has already delivered its first and second generations of superconducting quantum computers to the Chinese market.

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Next-generation technologies, such as leading-edge memory storage solutions and brain-inspired neuromorphic computing systems, could touch nearly every aspect of our lives — from the gadgets we use daily to the solutions for major global challenges. These advances rely on specialized materials, including ferroelectrics — materials with switchable electric properties that enhance performance and energy efficiency.

A research team led by scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has developed a novel technique for creating precise atomic arrangements in ferroelectrics, establishing a robust framework for advancing powerful new technologies. The findings are published in Nature Nanotechnology (“On-demand nanoengineering of in-plane ferroelectric topologies”).

“Local modification of the atoms and electric dipoles that form these materials is crucial for new information storage, alternative computation methodologies or devices that convert signals at high frequencies,” said ORNL’s Marti Checa, the project’s lead researcher. “Our approach fosters innovations by facilitating the on-demand rearrangement of atomic orientations into specific configurations known as topological polarization structures that may not naturally occur.” In this context, polarization refers to the orientation of small, internal permanent electric fields in the material that are known as ferroelectric dipoles.

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Gibbs said the two leases are among the top five largest new leases signed in Texas since the start of the year. The most recent in west Fort Worth is the third largest behind two others in Houston.

The Dallas-Fort Worth area is a hub for data centers, accounting for about one-tenth of the market, second to Northern Virginia. According to analysis from commercial real estate firm Avison Young, the DFW market ranks No. 4 behind northern Virginia, Atlanta and Phoenix, and vacancy sits at 1.4%.

Meta’s data center in Fort Worth’s AllianceTexas, in the far northern portion of the city, was one of the top taxpayers in the county in 2023, contributing more than $994 million, according to the Tarrant Appraisal District.

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Imposing time-dependent strain on a magnetic disk induces vortex dynamics and offers a path toward energy-efficient spintronic devices.

Nanoscopic magnetic vortices made from electron spins could be used in spintronic computers (see Research News: 3D Magnetism Maps Reveal Exotic Topologies). To this end, researchers need an energy-efficient way to excite these vortices into a so-called gyrotropic mode—an orbital motion of the vortex core around the central point. The direction of this orbital motion would determine which of two binary states the vortex represents. Vadym Iurchuk at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Germany, and his colleagues have now demonstrated such a method by imposing a time-varying strain on a magnetic material [1].

The excitation of gyration dynamics by an oscillating strain was suggested by a separate team in 2015 [2]. The idea involves depositing a magnetic film, in which magnetic vortices form spontaneously, on a piezoelectric substrate. Applying an alternating voltage to the substrate transfers a time-varying mechanical strain to the film, dynamically perturbing its magnetic texture. This perturbation displaces a vortex core from its equilibrium position, thereby exciting the gyrotropic mode.

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Scientists are finding ways to use quantum effects to create groundbreaking thermal devices that can help cool electronic systems. The quantum thermal transistor is one of the most exciting innovations in this field. While the current works surrounding this device are still theoretical, recent advancements in the fabrication of qubits using quantum dots and superconducting circuits have created a growing sense of optimism.

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