The new chip, the Majorana 1 processor, is the company’s first quantum processor based on a new architecture that’s been in development for almost 20 years.
The chip is powered by a topoconductor - which can create a new state of matter that is not a solid, liquid, or gas - making it possible to design quantum systems that fit in a single chip smaller than the palm of a hand, and that can be used to create more reliable hardware.
At the core of a quantum computers are qubits. These are units of information in quantum computing much like the binary bits that computers currently use. However, qubits are far more delicate and susceptible to noise.
According to Microsoft the Majorana 1 could potentially fit a million qubits onto a single chip and it’s a major achievement on the part of the company, which could now be well placed to develop the first reliable quantum computers if the company successfully builds on this research.
Commenting Markus Pflitsch, founder and CEO, Terra Quantum, said, “This is truly an advance for the industry: building a custom chip that uses topological qubits which many consider extremely useful for scaling to powerful quantum computers. The announcement reinforces our assessment that fault-tolerant quantum hardware is closer than many business leaders think.”
Years rather than decades?
Well, while cautiously optimistic many industry experts have suggested that a claim of ‘years’ before we see a practical demonstration of this technology – rather than decades - remains to be seen.
The topological qubits use a new type of emergent particle called a Majorana fermion, and while it is harder for information to be lost as it is processed it’s a far more complex process, which does raise questions as to whether this technology can be scaled.
Pflitsch said that he agreed with Microsoft that a hybrid solution of AI, HPC and quantum would be more likely to deliver commercial value before the arrival of universal, fault-tolerant quantum systems.
But whatever the case, this is a significant achievement, and these topoconductors could ultimately speed up the development of quantum computers capable of solving highly complex industrial and societal problems.
