Researchers Achieve Quantum Computing Breakthrough That Could Be Game-Changing
Well, a new development from the researchers at the Institute of Science and Technology in Austria (ISTA) could mean a sharp reduction in the costs of building and operating quantum computers, enabling larger and more useful machines. We're not quite to room-temperature qubits yet, but the new tech, which replaces the electrical wires with optical fibers, will drastically reduce how much cooling is needed to operate such a machine.
The crux of the advancement comes in the use of an electro-optical transducer to read qubits using microwaves instead of electrical signals. The microwaves are then converted to optical pulses which are sent down fiber-optic cables. Fiber optics use much less energy and generate much less heat than conventional wiring, and ISTA isn't the first group to have this idea. They do have the distinction of being the first group to make it work, though.
The end result of this development is that it will be possible to build larger quantum computers with a number of qubits that are actually useful for computation. While we've had arguably-functional quantum computers (at least by certain definitions) for 25 years now, the dream of practical, fault-tolerant quantum computing remains in the future. Breakthroughs like this inch us ever closer to that goal, though.
If you'd like to read more about the advancement, you can head over here to read the ISTA's paper on its findings, or click here to read a more detailed summary of the tech from ISTA itself.
