A diamond standard for clinical laboratory IT solutions

Clinical laboratory IT solutions could be built using diamonds in the future, as scientists develop quantum computing using trapped electrons in the precious gems.

Researchers at the University of California - Santa Barbara have created a mixture of light and matter by shining a specifically coloured laser into an atomic-scale defect within a thin diamond crystal.

This brief and unusual creation of light-matter can be measured in order to determine the state of electrons trapped within the defect.

Future development of the technique could yield new ways to store and read information within clinical laboratory IT solutions.

As a result, more secure long-distance communications may be possible, as well as expansions of computers' power.

"Manipulating the quantum state of a single electron in a semiconductor without destroying the information represents an extremely exciting scientific development with potential technological impact," says research leader David Awschalom.

The Santa Barbara campus is located 100 miles north-west of Los Angeles and occupies more than 1,000 acres on the California coastline.