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Research
From the quantum world
Research
From the quantum world
Shrunk to the size of a tabletop device: cooling system (dilution refrigerator) for the development and future operation of quantum computers at the JARA Institute for Quantum Information.
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They laid the foundations for new quantum technologies with their ground-breaking experiments, for which they will receive the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2022: quantum researchers Prof. Alain Aspect, Prof. John Clauser and Prof. Anton Zeilinger. The question now is to make use of the possibilities of the quantum world, for example the quantum computer. Jülich scientists have found various approaches to getting closer to powerful quantum computers that solve real-world problems.
A decisive puzzle piece for the leap toward millions of qubits
Millions of quantum bits are required for quantum computers to prove useful in practical applications. Scaling current prototypes with few computing units to millions of qubits, however, has been a problem so far. On the one hand, the qubits on a chip need to be close together in order to couple them. On the other hand, they have to pull apart to make room for the necessary control and measuring electronics. This is because, for space reasons, integrated electronics are very advantageous in building computers with millions of qubits. Researchers at Forschungszentrum Jülich and RWTH Aachen University have come a significant step closer to finding a solution to these two conflicting requirements. They succeeded in transporting electrons – the carriers of quantum information – over several micrometres on one semiconductor quantum chip. Their “quantum bus” could be the crucial piece of the puzzle to increase the possible distance between qubits and thus master the leap to millions of qubits.
Read more at: go.fzj.de/effzett-quantum-bus-EN
Picture above: Shrunk to the size of a tabletop device: cooling system (dilution refrigerator) for the development and future operation of quantum computers at the JARA Institute for Quantum Information.
More about Jülich quantum research: go.fzj.de/quantum-research
JARA Institute for Quantum Information
Scientists at the JARA Institute Quantum Information are researching the realization of a quantum computer. The video shows which paths and approaches they take. First hybrid quantum bit based on topological insulators
With their superior properties, topological qubits could help achieve a breakthrough in the development of a quantum computer designed for universal applications. So far, no one has yet succeeded in realizing a quantum bit, or qubit for short, of this kind in a lab. However, scientists from Forschungszentrum Jülich have now gained some headway in making this a reality. For the first time, they succeeded in integrating a topological insulator into a conventional superconducting qubit – an important step on the way towards building a topological qubit.
Read more at: go.fzj.de/effzett-hybrid-qubit-EN
It all comes down to balance
Quantum computer chips need just the right mix of order and disorder. This is what researchers in the Cluster of Excellence “Matter and Light for Quantum Computing” (ML4Q) have discovered. Jülich scientists are involved in the cluster. Too much order has a similar effect on the chips as a crowd marching in step on a bridge: vibrations build up that destabilize the construction. In chips, couplings between qubit states trigger oscillations, which destroys the quantum information. It is therefore important to specifically plan for qubit-to-qubit imperfections as early as the chip design stage.
Read more (in German) at: go.fzj.de/unordnung-quantenchips
0qubits …
… at the least has the quantum simulator that will be integrated with the JUWELS supercomputer at Forschungszentrum Jülich. It is one of two quantum simulators from the French start-up company PASQAL that are being connected to a supercomputer in the EU project “High-Performance Computer and Quantum Simulator hybrid” (HPCQS). The second simulator will be linked to the French supercomputer JOLIOT-CURIE. Hybrid computers of this kind are considered a milestone for using quantum computers for practical applications.
Photos: Forschungszentrum Jülich/Sascha Kreklau, PASQAL