Stanford physicists developed a new optical cavity platform using microlenses that can efficiently collect single photons from individual atoms acting as qubits. The team demonstrated a 40-cavity array with 40 atom qubits and a prototype with over 500 cavities, enabling parallel quantum information readout for the first time. This breakthrough addresses a key scaling challenge by allowing each atom in a quantum computer to have its own cavity, paving the way toward million-qubit quantum computer networks. The technology could enable quantum data centers where individual quantum computers network together into supercomputers, with applications in drug discovery, cryptography, biosensing, and astronomical observation.
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