One of the main hindrances to widespread quantum computing is the conditions under which it takes place. Some of the best examples of successful, small-scale quantum computing happen with superconductors – which generally have to be kept, very, very cold. For example, the quantum von neumann machine I wrote about a few weeks ago uses cryostats to keep it at near absolute zero.
There has also been some success in room temperature coherence, but such solutions tend to involve taking advantage of imperfections in diamonds – which are expensive, or trapped ions, which tend to be too large to use in, say, a cell phone. In an ideal world, building quantum computers would involve chips utilizing semiconductors made of cheap silicon – just like we use for traditional computing now.
Now enter the excellent quantum computer researchers at U.C. Santa Barbara, who may have just laid the foundation for that very thing. In a paper published in Nature, the researchers demonstrated quantum coherence – a necessary step to computing – using imperfections contained in silicon carbide crystals.
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