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Could this provide the spin control quantum computing needs?

A new way of encoding information could redefine the quantum bit.

A scanning electron microscope image of a qubit, similar to the one used. Highlighted are the positions of the tuning gates (pink), the microwave antenna (blue/grey), and the single electron transistor used for spin readout (green).
Guilherme Tosi & Arne Laucht/UNSW

Australian engineers are claiming a breakthrough in quantum computing, having increased the length of the “superposition” of quantum bits vital for making calculations.

“We have created a new quantum bit where the spin of a single electron is merged together with a strong electromagnetic field,” said Arne Laucht, lead author of the paper published in Nature Nanotechnology.


Scientists hope the quantum computers will become revolutionary tools for solving certain sorts of problems, including the the design of complex drugs and advanced materials, minimising lengthy trial and error testing.

Traditional computing relies on a transistor being on or off to provide inputs of the 1s and 0s of the binary code the computer uses to process instructions.

Quantum computing instead works on the basis of the quantum bit, or qubit, being spin-up, spin-down or in a “superposition” of both: 1 and 0 at the same time.

Theoretically, this should enable a quantum computer to weigh multiple solutions to a complex problem at once, and solve it at phenomenal speed.

The new quantum bit remains in a stable superposition for 10 times longer than previously achieved, the study says.

It is made up of the spin of a single atom in silicon and merged with an electromagnetic field – known as “dressed qubit”.



What Laucht and colleagues did was push this further.


Morello says the “dressed qubit” can be controlled in a variety of ways that would be impractical with an “undressed qubit”.


Curated content from the editorial staff at Cosmos Magazine.
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