According to a study published in Nature Communications , a new architecture for quantum computing, based on new ‘rocker’ qubits, promises to revolutionize the large-scale production of quantum chips.
In short, it is a silicon quantum processor that can be scaled up without the precise placement of atoms required in other approaches .
Qubits
This new architecture allows quantum bits (or "qubits", the basic unit of information in a quantum computer) to be located hundreds of nanometers apart and still remain coupled (if they are too close or too far apart, entanglement does not occur between the quantum bits).
The design was conceived by a team led by Andrea Morello , Program Manager at the Center of Excellence for Computing and Quantum Computing (CQC2T) in Sydney, Australia.
Crucially, this qubit can be controlled using electrical signals rather than magnetic signals, which are significantly easier to distribute and locate within an electronic chip, according to Morello :
It’s easier to fabricate than atomic-scale devices, but it still allows us to put a million qubits in a square millimeter.
The new qubit has been dubbed a ‘flip-flop’. According to Guilherme Tosi , a researcher at CQC2T, he developed the pioneering concept together with Morello:
To operate this qubit, you need to pull the electron a little further from the nucleus, using the electrodes at the top, for which you will also create an electric dipole.