Quantum Computing Breakthrough: Atoms Communicating Like Never Before
Engineers at UNSW have made a fascinating leap in quantum computing. They’ve discovered a way to create “quantum entangled states” using the spins of two atomic nuclei. This entanglement is crucial because it allows quantum computers to outperform traditional ones.
Published in the journal Science, this advancement is a significant step toward building large-scale quantum computers, a hot topic in today’s tech landscape. According to Dr. Holly Stemp, the lead researcher, this innovation can lead to microchips for quantum computing that use familiar manufacturing techniques.
Dr. Stemp explains, “We successfully connected the cleanest quantum objects, allowing them to interact at the scale of everyday silicon devices.” The ongoing challenge for quantum engineers is to protect these computing elements from interference while enabling them to work together effectively.
Many types of quantum hardware are still being explored. Some excel at quick calculations but are noisy, while others are stable but hard to scale. The UNSW team focused on using phosphorus atoms in silicon chips to store quantum data, leading to this breakthrough.
Scientia Professor Andrea Morello notes, “The spin of an atomic nucleus is one of the purest quantum objects possible.” Over the past 15 years, his group has helped make this technology a strong contender in the quantum computing arena. They have managed to retain quantum information for over 30 seconds, which is a long time in quantum terms, and achieved quantum operations with less than 1% error.
Connecting Through Electrons
Dr. Stemp likens the previous state of atomic nuclei to people in a sound-proof room. They could communicate clearly with others in the same room, but not beyond that. “With our breakthrough, it’s like giving them telephones to talk to people in other rooms,” she says.
These “telephones” are electrons, which can bridge distances. The team achieved communication between two nuclei that were only 20 nanometers apart—a tiny distance comparable to the space between Sydney and Boston if scaled up to human sizes. This is impressive, as 20 nanometers is the size used in modern silicon computer chips, which means existing manufacturing processes can be applied to quantum devices.
A Scalable Future
The innovation is aligned with how current computer chips function. The phosphorus atoms used were introduced by Prof. David Jamieson’s team at the University of Melbourne, utilizing an ultra-pure silicon slab from Prof. Kohei Itoh at Keio University, Japan.
By eliminating the need for nuclei to share the same electron, the UNSW team has overcome a significant barrier to scaling silicon quantum computers. Professor Morello believes this method is robust and can be expanded. In the future, they can add more electrons and position them differently to enhance communication between even more nuclei.
As research and development in quantum computing evolve, we may soon witness everyday applications of this incredible technology.
For more details, refer to the study in Science: DOI link.
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