Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have transferred information between two “artificial atoms” by way of electronic vibrations on a microfabricated aluminum cable, demonstrating a new component for potential ultra-powerful quantum computers of the future.

The setup resembles a miniature version of a cable-television transmission line, but with some powerful added features, including superconducting circuits with zero electrical resistance, and multi-tasking data bits that obey the unusual rules of quantum physics.

NIST’s resonant cable also offers a means of “refreshing” superconducting qubits, which normally can maintain the same delicate quantum state for only half a microsecond.

With design improvements, it might be used to repeatedly refresh the data and extend qubit lifetime more than 100-fold, sufficient to create a viable short-term quantum computer memory. NIST’s resonant cable might also be used to transfer quantum information between matter and light and thus link quantum computers to ultra-secure quantum communications systems.