Quantum computers are at a tipping point: the tech giants and governments are investing billions, but there are two fundamental obstacles: the quantity of qubits and the quality of these qubits. Qubit types include the polarization of a photon, in which the two spin states (left-handed and right-handed circular polarization) can also be exhibited and measured as horizontal and vertical polarizations.
Now a new invention from the University of Twente (UT), the Netherlands, is said to “improve the quality of photons to such an extent that building quantum computers based on light becomes cheaper and more practical.”
The researchers have published their research in Physical Review Applied.
The UT researchers, led by Jelmer Renema, have invented a component for a photonic quantum computer that “exchanges photon quantity for quality,” and have shown that this exchange yields more computing power. “Our discovery brings a future with powerful quantum computers a lot closer. That means improved medicines, new materials and safer communications. But also applications that we cannot yet imagine today,” said Renema.
“For a photonic quantum computer, you need extremely high-quality photons. Our technique ensures that only the best photons remain, which is crucial for reliable calculations,” he added. Because quantum computers are extremely sensitive to errors, previous generation methods required hundreds of physical photons to make a single reliable qubit. The Twente researchers’ new method can replace part of the required error correction, requiring far fewer photons.
To read more, click here.