The properties of gramonium qubits are determined by junctions as small as 20 nanometers. This joint acts like a magnifying glass for microscopic material defects. Credit: Dennis Rieger, KIT
Quantum computers perform many computational steps in parallel, allowing them to process large amounts of data faster. The information carrier of a quantum computer is a qubit. A qubit has not only information of “0” and “1”, but also values in between. The problem, however, lies in generating qubits that are small enough and can be switched fast enough to perform quantum computations.
Superconducting circuits are a very promising option. Superconductors have no electrical resistance at extremely low temperatures, so they are materials that allow current to flow without loss. This is important for maintaining the quantum states of the qubits and connecting them efficiently.
Graarmonium qubits: superconductivity and sensitivity
Researchers at KIT have successfully developed an unprecedented superconducting qubit. “The core of a superconducting qubit is a so-called Josephson junction, which is responsible for storing quantum information. Dr. Ioan M. Pop said.
Such Josephson junctions for superconducting qubits are generally obtained by a thin oxide barrier separating two aluminum layers. “For our qubits, we use a monolayer of granular aluminum, a superconductor made of aluminum particles a few nanometers in size embedded in an oxide matrix,” he said in Pop. says Mr. The material then self-structures in his three-dimensional network of Josephson junctions.
“It is interesting that all the properties of our qubits are dominated by very small junctions of only 20 nm. As a result, they act like magnifiers for microscopic material defects in superconducting qubits.” and offer promising options for improvement,” said Simon Günzler. , IQMT, add.
A qubit made entirely of granular aluminum
The progress achieved by the team builds on previously tested approaches using so-called fluxonium qubits. Parts of this predecessor version were made of granular aluminum, while other parts consisted of conventional aluminum. Currently, the entire qubit is made of granular aluminum. “And if quantum circuits can be cut out of metal films, this will lead to entirely new opportunities for industrial production by etching processes and extended applications of qubits, for example, in strong magnetic fields,” says the Physikalisches Institute of KIT. Dennis Rieger says.
A paper was published in a journal Natural materials.
For more information:
D. Rieger et al., Granular aluminum nanojunction fluxonium qubits, Natural materials (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41563-022-01417-9
Courtesy of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Quote: A New Qubit Approach for More Stable States of Quantum Computers (12 Jan 2023) will be released on 12 Jan 2023 at https://phys.org/news/2023-01-qubit-approach- Taken from stable-states-quantum.html.
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