Simulations suggest that one type of qubit could reveal its state through its own electric current, helping researchers monitor quantum computers with less disturbance and fewer components.
Like a bit in an ordinary computer, a qubit stores information using states labeled 0 and 1. A qubit can also be prepared in a superposition, a quantum combination of the two. These states belong to a physical system that researchers build and control. In the design explored here, that system is a tiny wire connected to superconducting materials.
The aim of quantum computing is to use quantum behavior to perform certain calculations more efficiently than conventional computers. That requires control: researchers must prepare qubits and change their states deliberately. Unwanted interactions with the surroundings can disrupt them, and measuring a qubit can alter it, too.
A theoretical study proposes reading one type of qubit through an electric current it produces itself. This could let researchers follow its behavior with minimal disturbance and without the extra qubits used in many existing methods.
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