Quantum memory gains via sound storage

Caltech researchers link a superconducting qubit to a mechanical oscillator to store quantum information as sound, achieving up to 30 times longer storage.

Using sound to remember quantum information 30 times longer

Caltech researchers connected a superconducting qubit on a chip to a tiny mechanical oscillator, a tuning fork that vibrates at gigahertz frequencies. They convert electrical quantum information into phonons, store it in the oscillator, and retrieve it later. In tests, the stored quantum state lasted up to 30 times longer than the best superconducting qubits, a major gain for quantum memories.

The team notes the approach is compact because acoustic waves travel slower than electromagnetic waves, helping prevent energy from leaking away. The design could allow many tuners on a single chip, enabling scalable memories. The work, published in Nature Physics, shows a path toward practical quantum devices, though engineers must still raise the interaction rate by several times to enable faster read and write operations.

This advance signals a shift toward hybrid quantum systems that mix electrical qubits with mechanical memory. The promise is clear: longer storage with lower energy loss and more compact devices. If researchers can repeat and scale these results, memory could become a standard building block rather than an afterthought.

Yet the path ahead is crowded with challenges. Increasing the rate at which information moves between the qubit and the memory will determine practical usefulness. Funding, fabrication, and cross device interference will shape whether this memory becomes routine hardware or remains a niche technology.

Highlights

Researchers will watch how this memory approach blends with other quantum technologies.