For years, scientists have been attempting to make quantum computing a reality in ordinary life. Although quantum computers have been successfully shown since the late 1990s, they are delicate and require a great deal of maintenance to keep them working smoothly, making them difficult to create for use in everyday applications.
The
superconducting qubit, a component of quantum computing that incorporates
inductors and capacitors and relies on superconducting circuits, is one of the
most finicky aspects of the quantum computer. However, thanks to scientists at
MIT who are working on developing a new type of superconducting qubit using
ultrathin materials, the superconducting qubit may be shrinking.
PUTTING THE “BIT” IN QUBIT
A qubit is
a difficult piece of technology to grasp because it contains all of quantum
physics' uncertainty. A qubit can be 1, 0, or both at the same time, unlike a
typical computer bit, which is binary and can only be 1 or 0. This is due to
quantum superposition, which allows two different wavelengths or particles to
coexist in the same space. Essentially, a particle can be in two places at the
same time, allowing a qubit to be in one of two states at the same time.
Quantum computers can conserve data space and run algorithms more effectively
as a result of this.
In order to work, qubits have to be kept at freezing temperatures, close to absolute zero kelvin. This makes building a quantum computer expensive and very difficult. Because these qubits also use individual particles, they can be quite fragile to other vibrations, even small ones. Most qubits are made of a special superconducting aluminum circuit, which can make the quantum computer massive.
ANALYSIS: SHRINKING DOWN IN SIZE
Researchers
from MIT are challenging the conventional size of qubits by using an ultrathin
material. These materials, such as boron nitride, are only a few layers thick.
The researchers used boron nitride in a hexagonal shape to form an insulator
within the capacitor of the qubit. This allows the capacitor to shrink in size,
making the overall qubits smaller. The researchers found that they could build
qubits one-hundredth of the traditional size, with their new material.
Not only
will this help to decrease the massive size of a quantum computer, but it can
also reduce interference, or crosstalk, between the qubits, which can hinder
the functionality of the quantum computer. “It will be very important to
miniaturize the size of each individual qubit and at the same time avoid the
unwanted cross-talk between these hundreds of thousands of qubits,” explained
MIT research scientist and co-lead author Joel Wang. “This is one of the very
few materials we found that can be used in this kind of construction.”
References:
- Wang, J.IJ., Yamoah, M.A., Li, Q. et al. Hexagonal boron nitride as a low-loss dielectric for superconducting quantum circuits and qubits. Nat. Mater. (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-021-01187-w
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