Japanese physicists have developed a dual-qubit quantum processor that operates at record speeds using cold atoms. It is capable of performing hundreds of millions of operations per second. This was announced on Monday, August 8, by the press office at the National Institute of Natural Sciences in Japan (NINS).
According to the statement published by the press office, physicists have been working for two decades to accelerate qubits to reduce the likelihood that random noise will cause malfunction. The ultra-fast execution speed of logical operations, which takes only 6.5 nanoseconds each, allows for computations to be performed 100 times faster than the noise that occurs in qubits, enabling the disregarding of noise effects on the computer.
It is noted that there are several types of qubits, representing quantum analogs of classical computer bits based on superconductors, single atoms or ions, and semiconductors. The first three types of memory cells are still leading the "quantum race" to design increasingly complex computing devices, as their operation is more controllable and involves fewer calculation errors.
One of the main obstacles preventing further development of such computers is that they take too much time to perform even the simplest logical operations. Consequently, most quantum computers are several orders of magnitude less effective than their silicon counterparts, hindering complex calculations involving numerous steps.
A team of Japanese physicists, led by Kenji Omori, a professor at the National Institute of Natural Sciences in Japan, has solved this issue for cold atom-based quantum computers. Special particles, referred to by scientists as "Rydberg" atoms, play the role of quantum bits within these computers. Professor Omori and his colleagues accelerated the operation of Rydberg atom-based quantum computers by several orders of magnitude, made possible by the development of a new strategy to subject rubidium-87 atoms to radiation using ultra-short, powerful laser radiation pulses.
Physicists currently state that the entire process takes about 6.5 nanoseconds, which is approximately 100 times faster than other cold atom-based quantum computers. Researchers hope that their invention will lead to the design of new computers capable of performing hundreds of millions of operations per second and solving complex problems that can be practically applied.
