Researchers have found a solution to a quantum computing roadblock that could bring them a step closer to accomplishing the feat, and broke world records in a measurement known as "coherence time."
Two research teams working out of the UNSW Australia laboratories created two different types of quantum bits or "qubits" that can process data with an accuracy of over 99 percent.
"For quantum computing to become a reality we need to operate the bits with very low error rates," said Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, who is Director of the Australian National Fabrication Facility at UNSW, where the devices were made.
"We've now come up with two parallel pathways for building a quantum computer in silicon, each of which shows this super accuracy," added Associate Professor Andrea Morello from UNSW's School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications.
The natural phosphorous atom qubit actually contains two qubits: the electron and the nucleus, allowing for the stunning levels of accuracy. Methods for correcting errors do exist, but they are only reliable if the qubit has an error rate of no more than 1 percent. This is the first silicon-based experiment to ever achieve this statistic.
In the experiment, both qubits are placed between purified silicon, containing only the silicon-28 isotope. These layers are non-magnetic and do not disturb the qubit. In order to achieve quantum computers, the team would need to make thousands of millions of qubit pairs.
The research teams also achieved a world record "coherence time," which is a measurement of how long quantum information can be stored before it is lost. The team found they were able to store quantum information in a phosphorous nucleus for over 30 seconds.
"Half a minute is an eternity in the quantum world. Preserving a 'quantum superposition' for such a long time, and inside what is basically a modified version of a normal transistor, is something that almost nobody believed possible until today," Morello said.
The findings were published in a recent edition of the journal Nature.
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