Chinese researchers have shown that a silicon quantum chip can carry out a full set of error-detecting logical operations – the first time this has been done and a key step towards building reliable quantum computers.
The study, published in Nature Nanotechnology on Monday, found the device could process quantum information with built-in error checks – something previously achieved in platforms like superconducting circuits but not with silicon.
According to the team from the Shenzhen International Quantum Academy, the study showed that the core building blocks needed for a broadly useful error-tolerant quantum computer were “now in place in silicon” – a material used in smartphones, laptops and data centres.
The researchers also used the processor to calculate the lowest-energy state of a water molecule, producing a result close to the theoretical value. They said this showed the approach was “feasible for running practical quantum algorithms”.
Quantum computers are designed to solve certain problems that would overwhelm even the fastest conventional computers, such as simulating molecules or optimising complex systems.
Unlike ordinary computers, which process information as 0s and 1s, quantum computers use quantum bits – or qubits – which can represent multiple possibilities at once and make some calculations far more efficiently.
05:04
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