(PopularMechanics) Molecular engineers at the University of Chicago have found a way to extend the quantum state of a qubit to 22 milliseconds, representing a huge improvement and a window some say will make quantum computers far more feasible. The secret is an alternating magnetic field, which they say is scientifically “intricate” but easy to apply.
Working with qubits in solid silicon carbide, the scientists extended the time in quantum state of their qubit to 22 milliseconds, which sounds small to our slow human brains, but is almost an eternity for a qubit. In fact, the researchers say it’s 10,000 times longer than the next nearest quantum state finding.
The researchers sum up in the paper, published last week in Science. Thy wrote, “We construct a robust qubit embedded in a decoherence-protected subspace, obtained by applying microwave dressing to a clock transition of the ground-state electron spin of a silicon carbide divacancy defect.”
Basically, they made an interface called a subspace, placed a qubit in it, and then wrapped the entire thing in an atomic-timed beeping protective blanket.
UChicago Scientists Extend Quantum States by 22 Milliseconds
