On Feb. 20, tech giant, Microsoft, said it’s new quantum computer chip the “Majorana 1” utilizes an entirely new state of matter, a topological superconductor, that isn’t a solid, liquid or gas.
The company says that this new state of matter helps build more powerful and reliable qubits that can be scaled up, creating the world’s most powerful quantum computer.
With this new technology, Microsoft says it places the company on the path to fit one million qubits on a single chip small enough to fit in the palm of one’s hand, and that the breakthrough puts the company decades ahead in the race to build commercial quantum computers that have real world applications.
The company said that all the computers in the world, operating together, can’t do what a single one-million-qubit quantum computer will be able to do.
In a statement, Microsoft technical fellow, Chetan Nayak, said, “Whatever you’re doing in the quantum space needs to have a path to a million qubits. If it doesn’t, you’re going to hit a wall before you get to the scale at which you can solve the really important problems that motivate us.”
RELATED:
- The Quantum Internet Is Emerging; What Is It and What Can We Expect?
- IBM’s Latest Quantum Processor Pushes the Limits of Existing Science
Success
You are now signed up for our newsletter
Success
Check your email to complete sign up
The Majorana fermion
This breakthrough has been in the making for nearly two decades. Microsoft’s new computer chip, the Majorana 1, relies on a subatomic particle the Majorana fermion, that’s existence was first theorized in the 1930s.
The particle is perfect for use in quantum technologies because their use makes quantum computer processes less prone to errors, a major hurdle in quantum computer development.
Microsoft said the chip is made with indium arsenide and aluminum and that the device uses a superconducting nanowire to observe the particles. More importantly, the company says it can be controlled with standard computing equipment.
While Microsoft’s new chip currently has far fewer qubits than its competitors’ chips, Google and IBM, the company believes that fewer qubits will be required on its chip due to a decline in error rates.
While Microsoft did not explicitly say when a commercial quantum computer, using its new chip, will be available, it did say it is only years away now, not decades.
Microsoft executive vice president, Jason Zander, described the Majorana 1 as a “high risk, high reward” strategy.
“The hardest part has been solving the physics. There is no textbook for this, and we had to invent it. We literally have invented the ability to go create this thing, atom by atom, layer by layer,” Zander said according to the NY Post.
