QuantumChips
Latest
Researchers show off scalable architecture for quantum computing, expand our minds
Okay, so we might be chasing the flying unicorn of modern technology here -- and, no, we're not talking about the white iPhone 4 -- but as you've probably noticed, our hunger for a quantum computer is basically insatiable. Lucky for us, some folks who actually know something about producing qubits are similarly persistent -- a team of researchers recently presented a scalable quantum chip at a meeting of the American Physical Society in good old Texas. The 6 x 6-cm processor sports four qubits, the basic units of quantum computing, and its creators say it has the potential to be scaled up to support 10 of the things within the year. So what does that mean for our quest for the ultimate super computer? Well, it means we're closer than we used to be... and the dream lives on.
Quantum computer chips get infinitesimally closer to happening
We've already seen at least one (sort of) functional quantum processor, and one breakthrough after the other in quantum computing, but it looks like some researchers at Ohio State University have now made a breakthrough of their own that could possibly speed things up considerably. The big news there is that they've apparently found a way to fabricate a quantum device called a resonant interband tunneling diode (or RITD) using a chip-making technique called "vapor desposition," which is commonly used today for traditional chips. While there's still quite a bit of perfecting to be done on the device itself, lead researcher Paul Berger says the RTIDs could be used for ultra-low-power computer chips that operate with small voltages and produce less excess heat, and may even allow for ultra high-resolution imaging devices that can "operate at wavelengths beyond the human eye" -- opening up possibilities for everything from advanced medical imaging to the ability to see through rain, snow, fog and dust storms.[Via Physorg]
