A new study outlines the progress of hardware materials needed to make quantum computers, if these future devices exceed the capabilities of the computers we use now.
This research, published in Science by an international team, investigates the research status of quantum computing hardware, aiming at clarifying the challenges and opportunities faced by scientists and engineers.
Traditional computers encode bits of information as 1 and 0, while quantum computers easily transcend binary structures by creating qubits, which can be complex and continuous quantities. Storing and manipulating information in this strange form will eventually realize the "quantum advantage", that is, quantum computers can do things that traditional computers can't do, which requires complex control of the underlying materials.
"In the past 20 years, the development of quantum technology has exploded," said Nathalie Delean, an assistant professor of electronic and computer engineering at Princeton University and the main author of the paper. "At present, people are trying to demonstrate the advantages of quantum technology in various tasks, from computing and simulation to networking and sensing."
Delane said that until recently, most of the work in this field was devoted to proving the principles of quantum devices and processors, but now the field is ready to meet the challenges of the real world.
"Just as classical computing hardware has become a huge field of materials science and engineering in the past century, I think quantum technology is a mature new method now, and materials scientists, chemists, equipment engineers and other scientists and engineers can effectively solve professional problems."
Han Xi Parker, the correspondent of the paper and a researcher at IBM quantum, said that the paper called on scientists studying materials to turn to the challenge of developing quantum computing hardware.
Paik said: "In recent years, the research and industrial progress of quantum computing technology is accelerating." "In order to develop in the next decade, we will need the progress of materials and manufacturing technology of quantum computing hardware-similar to the progress of classical computing in microprocessor expansion. Breakthrough cannot be achieved overnight. We hope that more people in the field of materials will begin to study quantum computing technology. Our thesis is a comprehensive overview of the material industry. In the development of quantum computing materials, we have expert opinions from this field. "
The core of quantum computer is qubits, which together produce a lot of results.
These qubits can be made in different ways through the leading technology of superconducting qubits, which can capture ions and light; Quantum bits made of silicon can be found in today's computers; Quantum bit "color center" can capture high purity diamonds; Quantum bits can be topologically protected in exotic subatomic particles. This paper analyzes the main technical challenges faced by these materials and puts forward the strategies to solve these problems.
Researchers hope that one or more of these platforms will eventually develop to the stage where quantum computing can solve problems that today's machines can't solve, such as simulating the behavior of molecules and providing secure electronic encryption.
"I think (this paper) is the first time to integrate this comprehensive picture. We give priority to' showing our work' and explain the reasons behind the wisdom that each hardware platform is accepted, "Delean said. "We hope that this method will enable new participants in this field to find ways to make significant contributions."
The ten co-authors come from research institutions around the world and the IBM T. J. Watson Research Center, which has a major quantum computing research group. These scientists met at the autumn meeting of Materials Research Association in 20 19 and the symposium on quantum computing materials sponsored by IBM quantum and caffery Foundation. Then, during the epidemic last year, they spent a lot of time studying this review paper at home.
"Working with a team with so much expertise is a great experience. Many of our activities involve asking each other sharp questions, that is, why do we believe what we have done to our respective material platforms? "said Delean, whose research makes use of the defects of diamond materials to make communication between nodes in the future quantum Internet possible.
More information: Nathalie P. De Leon et al., Material Challenges and Opportunities of Quantum Computing Hardware, Science (202 1). DOI: 10. 1 126/science . abb 2823。
Journal information: science