A new strategy developed by researchers at Florida State University may help quantum bits stay on task, and it could be huge when it comes to building quantum computers in the future.
Quantum computers could be an amazing resource in the future. Reliant on quantum physics, these computers could be able to outperform certain computational tasks exponentially faster. This, in particular, has major implications for cryptology, computational chemistry and other areas.
A quantum computer works by maintaining a series of qubits, which are made up of controlled particles. While regular computers rely on bits that can only be in one of two definite states at a time (0 or 1), qubits can be in superpositions of states. This means that they can be both at the same time.
While quantum computers can be useful, their use of quantum physics makes them difficult to build. That's why researchers looked a bit more closely at the possibility of these quantum computers.
In this latest study, the research team worked with carefully designed tungsten oxide molecules that contained a single magnetic ion for their qubits. The magnetic electrons associated with each holmium ion circulated either clockwise or counterclockwise around the axis of the molecule.
The magnetic electrons associated with each holmium ion circulated either clockwise or counterclockwise around the axis of the molecule. These spin states are similar to the "0s" and "1s" that a normal computer uses but can act as both 0 and 1 states at the same time.
With that said, qubits are susceptible to magnetic disturbances, known as "noise." This causes qubits to stop and then start over in a breakdown known as "decoherence."
In this latest study, the researchers looked at a way to reduce decoherence. They found that they could assemble molecules with special spin states that, when put in a magnetic field, are immune to magnetic disturbances. In fact, the researchers were able to keep their qubit working coherently for 8.4 microseconds, which is potentially long enough for it to perform computational task.
The findings could help eventually build a quantum computer in the future. However, scientists still have a long way to go to make that a possibility.
The study was published in the March 16 issue of the journal Nature.
