Scientists established within the Nineteen Nineties that a few of a quantum pc’s qubits might be devoted to correcting these errors, and the years since then have been spent trying to find methods to assemble bodily qubits in order that sufficient “logical” qubits are left over to do helpful computing work.
The usual trade considering has been {that a} chip will want about 1,000,000 bodily qubits to yield a helpful variety of logical qubits.
However AWS stated it had constructed a prototype chip that makes use of solely 9 bodily qubits to yield one working logical qubit, due to the usage of what is called a “cat” qubit, so named for physicist Erwin Schrodinger’s well-known thought experiment for example ideas of quantum mechanics through which an unfortunate cat in a field is each lifeless and alive on the similar time.
Oskar Painter, AWS director of quantum {hardware}, stated the AWS method might in the future yield helpful computer systems with solely 100,000 qubits somewhat than 1,000,000.
“It ought to enable us to supply between 5 and 10 occasions decrease numbers of bodily qubits to implement the error correction in a totally scaled machine. In order that’s the actual profit,” Painter instructed Reuters.
Painter stated that the present chip was constructed utilizing normal methods borrowed from the chip trade and a cloth referred to as tantalum, however that AWS and companions hope to customize these methods additional.
“That is the place I feel there’s going to be an enormous quantity of innovation and that would be the factor that might actually reel in timelines for growth. If we make enhancements on the supplies and processing degree, this may make the underlying know-how simply a lot less complicated,” Painter stated.
