from the fast-spin dept.
Researchers with the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) have developed a new way to manipulate optically quantum spin states on ultrafast time scales (femtoseconds). They suggest that the ability to quickly manipulate electron spins could pave the way for all-optical quantum computation in solids by loosening the stringent requirements on coherence times. In a paper published in the 29 June 2001 issue of Science ("Ultrafast Manipulation of Electron Spin Coherence"), a team led by University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) physicist David Awschalom described their experiments. Awschalom is director of the UCSB Center for Spintronics and Quantum Computation, a central component of the new California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) located jointly at UCSB and UCLA.
For more information about CNSI, see Foresight Update #43.
