The race to build practical quantum computers has intensified as technology companies seek to overcome fundamental challenges in quantum physics.
These machines promise to solve complex problems in chemistry, materials science and drug development that remain beyond the reach of classical computers.
Yet whilst leading tech companies like Google and IBM have taken major steps in quantum computing advancement, including using superconducting circuits to create quantum bits and trapped-ion systems, these systems face challenges with stability and scalability that have limited their practical applications.
Now, taking the next step in quantum computing’s evolution, Microsoft has unveiled a quantum processor that it says marks a shift in the development of large-scale quantum computers, but through a different technical approach.
Microsoft’s Majorana breakthrough harnesses new material
Microsoft’s Majorana 1 chip uses a new architecture called Topological Core that Microsoft claims will enable quantum computers to tackle complex industrial problems within years rather than decades.
“We believe this breakthrough will allow us to create a truly meaningful quantum computer not in decades, as some have predicted, but in years,” Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s Chief Executive Officer says.
The processor relies on a material called a topoconductor, which can observe and control quantum particles known as Majoranas to produce more stable quantum bits, or qubits – the fundamental building blocks of quantum computers.
“We took a step back and said ‘OK, let's invent the transistor for the quantum age. What properties does it need to have?’,” Chetan Nayak, Microsoft Technical Fellow says.
“And that's how we got here – it’s the particular combination, the quality and the important details in our new materials stack that have enabled a new kind of qubit and our entire architecture.”
The company says the architecture provides a path to fitting one million qubits on a single chip – and this number of qubits represents a threshold for quantum computers to deliver solutions to problems such as breaking down microplastics or developing self-healing materials.
“After a nearly 20 year pursuit, we’ve created an entirely new state of matter, unlocked by a new class of materials, topoconductors, that enable a fundamental leap in computing,” Satya adds.
The power of qubits
The quantum world operates according to different laws of physics than the visible world.
Qubits are sensitive to environmental disturbances and measurement, which can cause information loss, so the challenge lies in developing qubits that can be measured and controlled while remaining protected from environmental interference.
Microsoft chose to pursue topological qubits nearly 20 years ago, believing they would offer more stable qubits requiring less error correction – and this approach required creating Majorana particles, which do not exist in nature and can only be produced using magnetic fields and superconductors.
“The qubits created with topoconductors are faster, more reliable and smaller. They are 1/100th of a millimeter, meaning we now have a clear path to a million-qubit processor,” says Satya.
“Imagine a chip that can fit in the palm of your hand yet is capable of solving problems that even all the computers on Earth today combined could not!”
DARPA selects Microsoft for quantum computing programme
The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which invests in technologies relevant to national security, has selected Microsoft as one of two companies to progress to the final phase of its Underexplored Systems for Utility-Scale Quantum Computing programme.
The programme forms part of DARPA's Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, which aims to deliver a fault-tolerant quantum computer whose computational value exceeds its costs.
Microsoft has also developed the chip through a partnership with quantum computing firms Quantinuum and Atom Computing, as well as the company's Azure Quantum platform that offers integrated solutions that combine AI, high-performance computing and quantum systems.
The making of Majorana 1
The topoconductor material creates a quantum state that produces stable qubits which can be digitally controlled.
The breakthrough required developing a materials stack made of indium arsenide and aluminium, which Microsoft designed at the atomic level – with the aim of creating Majorana particles and utilising their properties for quantum computing.
As a result, the Majorana 1 chip incorporates error resistance at the hardware level and the design enables qubits to be controlled digitally, which Microsoft says simplifies quantum computing operations.
“From the start we wanted to make a quantum computer for commercial impact, not just thought leadership,” says Matthias Troyer, Microsoft Technical Fellow and Corporate Vice President at Microsoft Quantum.
“We knew we needed a new qubit. We knew we had to scale.”
Furthermore, the chip’s measurement approach can detect the difference between one billion and one billion and one electrons in a superconducting wire to determine the qubit's state – and the measurements use voltage pulses rather than requiring fine-tuning for each qubit.
The architecture uses aluminium nanowires arranged in H-shapes, with each H containing four controllable Majoranas that form one qubit and these can be connected and arranged across the chip.
Majorana 1’s challenges
The complete quantum chip, including control electronics, fits in the palm of a hand and can be deployed in Azure data centres.
“It’s one thing to discover a new state of matter,” Nayak says. “It’s another to take advantage of it to rethink quantum computing at scale.”
However, the development of the materials posed technical challenges, according to Krysta Svore, Microsoft Technical Fellow.
“We are literally spraying atom by atom. Those materials have to line up perfectly. If there are too many defects in the material stack, it kills your qubit,” she says.
“Ironically, it’s also why we need a quantum computer – because understanding these materials is incredibly hard.
“With a scaled quantum computer, we will be able to predict materials with even better properties for building the next generation of quantum computers beyond scale,” Krysta says.
Summarising the achievement of Majorana 1, Satya concludes: “Most of us grew up learning there are three main types of matter that matter: solid, liquid and gas. Today, that changed.”
To read the full article in the magazine, click HERE.
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