University of Oxford Entangles Multi-Species Atom Network and Extends Memory Storage Beyond 10 Seconds
AI-summarised brief · reviewed before publication
Physicists at the University of Oxford demonstrated a heterogeneous quantum network that entangles ions of two different species—strontium (88Sr⁺) and calcium (43Ca⁺)—across separate trapped‑ion modules. The team produced up to four‑qubit Greenberger‑Horne‑Zeilinger states and stored the distributed entanglement in calcium memory qubits for more than 10 seconds, a lifetime exceeding the generation time by over 100 times. By co‑trapping a strontium optical interface with a calcium memory qubit in microfabricated Paul traps, the researchers avoided decoherence from networking lasers and achieved a record entanglement lifetime, advancing distributed quantum computing and sensing.
💡 Why It Matters
- · The breakthrough shows that mixed‑species trapping can overcome the decoherence trade‑offs that have limited quantum networks, paving the way for scalable, long‑lived entanglement essential for practical quantum communication and computation.