Silicon Quantum Chips Powered by Qubits May Bring Quantum Computers to the Masses

(FastCompany) The quantum computer of the future will be more than just a quantum processor, in the same way that today’s computer is more than just a microprocessor. The production depends on many moving parts, from the control electronics to the architecture. Significant technical challenges remain. This article discusses those challenges, limitations and several new research developments around qbits that show promise in the progress toward quantum computers. Two of the researchers discussed and their teams are:
1) Jim Clarke, Intel’s director of quantum hardware discussed his company’s tiniest quantum chip yet–it’s so small that it can sit comfortably on a pencil eraser. The chip is powered by qubits that are each more than a thousand times smaller than a single strand of hair.
2)Jason Petta’s lab at Princeton demonstrates the potential for a silicon quantum chip that could scale up. Petta and colleagues set up a trap called a double quantum dot: It’s a tiny silicon chamber that keeps the electron in one place for long enough to hybridize its charge and spin.The result was a simple yet programmable system: the quantum control of a single electron, with the potential to send information to another qubit as much as a centimeter away.