China Focus: Scientists set new world record in light storage technology

BEIJING -- Scientists have achieved a significant breakthrough in the field of light storage, setting a new world record by storing light information for an impressive 4,035 seconds.

The study, mainly conducted by researchers from the Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences (BAQIS), has been published in the international journal Nature Communication.

"Storing light has always been a challenge across the world," said Liu Yulong, an associate researcher at BAQIS and the first author of the study. Liu explained that photons, the particles of light, move at incredibly high speeds, making them nearly impossible to capture and store directly.

To overcome this, the scientists have turned to sound signals, which are much slower and easier to store. The key was finding a medium capable of converting light signals into sound signals, effectively "trapping" light.

"Think of photons as tiny balls moving at high speeds. When they collide with a thin film, the light's amplitude, frequency, and other information are converted into sound signals. By storing these sound signals in the film, we achieve light storage," said Li Tiefu, a researcher at BAQIS.

Previous attempts to store light involved materials like metallic aluminum and silicon nitride films. However, due to internal material losses, these films could only maintain vibrations for a very short time, limiting information storage to less than a second. This hurdle prompted the BAQIS team to explore new materials with superior properties.

After extensively testing materials such as diamond and gallium nitride, the researchers turned to single-crystal silicon carbide film. This material, with its highly regular internal structure, offers exceptional frequency stability and minimal internal losses.

These properties allowed the team to achieve a record-breaking storage duration of 4,035 seconds, far surpassing previous attempts.

A notable advantage of this single-crystal silicon carbide film is its ability to maintain excellent performance even at extremely low temperatures.

This makes it a promising candidate for use in quantum computers, which often operate under cryogenic conditions, such as those based on superconducting systems, topological systems, and semiconductor quantum dots.

Looking ahead, the research team aims to further improve the device's storage duration, increase information density, and enhance compatibility with other quantum technologies.

These advancements will provide a high-performance physical platform for quantum computing and lay a solid foundation for the development of quantum information networks.