A confession from quantum computing
Hello everyone! I am the quantum computing master that has been hotly discussed in the technology circle. I am very happy to express myself and my family in this way. The main reason is that recently, "famous people are prone to gossip". (Headache...)
One moment, they said Google had joined a super-scale competition about me and wanted to study me carefully; the next moment, they said I was like Sun Wukong, who could transform into 72 different forms and was about to unify the “computing world”. (I am the big brother, okay?)
Some even said that I might threaten the now “red-hot” blockchain… Um, no! It was the safety of his son’s Bitcoin… So, after internal discussions among family members, we decided to issue this notice to clarify these “rumors”!
The notice is as follows, everyone please read it carefully!
First of all, let me first tell you who I am and how powerful I am.
I have two names. The Chinese name is quantum computing, and the English name is this: quantum computing. It was first proposed by P. Benioff of Argonne National Laboratory in the early 1980s, so it has a long history!
After my birth, in the long years since then, 1981 is a particularly important day for me!
That year, a speech at the First Conference on Physics of Computation held at MIT officially positioned me in the turbulent "computing power world". As the saying goes, "Once you enter the world, it's like entering the deep sea". Since then, I have found my position, and everyone has been studying me!
It is important to study me because I am really amazing! (emphasis added here!)
We are all in the technology circle. Nowadays, in the "computing power world", traditional computer binary can no longer meet the very demanding calculation needs. In one word: slow!
Simply put, in a conventional computer, the information unit represented by binary is either in the "0" state or the "1" state. There are only four possible combinations produced by this form: 00, 01, 10, and 11. With such a single state, it is easy to guess and it is boring.
But I am different. In a binary quantum computer, my information unit is called a quantum bit. In addition to being in the "0" state or the "1" state, it can also be in a superposed state.
The so-called superposition state is the arbitrary linear superposition of the "0" state and the "1" state. In layman's terms, I can be in the "0" state or the "1" state, and what's more amazing is that the "0" state and the "1" state can exist at the same time with a certain probability.
To put it more simply, this quantum in a superposition state is like the "hun'er" in the mahjong game. Before the final winning card, it can be a "bing", a "wan", a "tiao", or any other card. It is a superposition of multiple possible card faces. It is so willful!
To put it in a more popular way, it is just like the "Five Blessings Collection Event" before the New Year's Eve in the past two years. Just scan and get a universal blessing, then you can share hundreds of millions of red envelopes without any suspense, and this superposition state is the "universal blessing" with its own halo! (Applause here!)
It is precisely because of my special skill - superposition state, that the state of the quantum bit can be in a superposition of multiple possibilities at the same time. With such a complex state, the efficiency of processing information is naturally comparable to riding a rocket, double-clicking 666, isn't it? (Traditional computing hurts...)
It seems that I may provide new solutions to many problems that traditional computers cannot solve. Based on this, scientists and many companies are racking their brains to explore how to use me to accelerate technological development in various fields, such as financial model development and climate prediction.
Here I would like to introduce the people who are keen on studying me.
In 2015, Intel launched a collaborative research project to develop a commercially viable system for me.
However, although many studies on me have made significant breakthroughs, overall I am still relatively "newbie". Just like a marathon race, the depth of my research still remains at the first kilometer.
In fact, in order to better utilize my "strengths", researchers need to solve many problems, overcome many difficulties and make corresponding reasonable architectural decisions. The most difficult point is that it is still unclear what form the quantum bit processor should take, which is equivalent to the traditional binary rule.
Speaking of this issue, I would like to solemnly introduce two other family members who have a "close" relationship with me, my two sons, namely the superconducting quantum bit (Jun) and the spin quantum bit (Jun).
Although I am very good, there are still some shortcomings in theoretical research and practical application, so my two sons were also included in the scope of in-depth research! (As the saying goes, the waves behind push the waves ahead, um, a little sad!)
Among them, superconducting quantum bits (SQU) have made rapid progress in Intel’s development of related test chips, and other researchers are also actively following!
In addition, Intel used its expertise in manufacturing silicon transistors for related research and development, which led to the emergence of my other son, the spin quantum bit (Jun).
Practice has proved that spin quantum bits running on silicon devices can indeed help clear some scientific obstacles from theoretical research to practical applications.
Since he has such potential, let me introduce my son in detail!
Spin qubits are very similar to the semiconductor electronics and transistors we know today. They use the spin of a single electron on a silicon device and tiny microwave pulses to control its motion to transfer quantum energy.
Electrons can spin in different directions. When the electron spins up, it can be represented by the binary value "1"; when the electron spins down, it is represented by the binary value "0".
It is important to emphasize that these electrons also exist in a "superposition" link, which means that they have the probability of spinning both up and down at the same time.
This means that my son, the spin quantum bit (Jun), also possesses the abilities of “Mahjong Hun’er” and “Universal Fortune”!
In theory, spin qubits could allow large data sets to be processed in parallel, much faster than conventional computers.
From my own perspective, I am more optimistic that the spin quantum bit (Jun) will inherit my mantle. Why? It is more knowledgeable!
Compared with superconducting qubits, spin qubits have many advantages.
First, it’s small but mighty. (As the saying goes, the best is in the smallest possible amount!)
Although the actual size of spin qubits is much smaller and their connection time will be relatively longer, it is beneficial to scale the system to the millions of qubits required for commercial systems.
Secondly, we love the high temperature!
Silicon spin qubits can operate at higher temperatures than superconducting qubits (1 Kelvin instead of 20 millikelvin), greatly reducing the complexity of the systems required to run the chip. This allows the control electronics to be integrated closer to the processor without shutting down due to high temperatures!
This comes from the research results of Intel and its partner QuTech, which are exploring whether spin qubits can operate normally in a higher temperature environment. Practice shows that the operating environment of silicon spin qubits can be 1 Kelvin higher (or 50 times the temperature) than superconducting qubits. They plan to share these research results at the American Physical Society (APS) meeting in March this year.
Third, it should be easier to explore.
Since the design of spin quantum bit processors is very similar to traditional silicon transistor technology, although there are still many scientific and engineering challenges, Intel has decades of experience in manufacturing large-scale transistor equipment and infrastructure and has enough confidence to manufacture an ultra-high-level spin quantum bit processor.
As a father, I am very happy to see that all these advantages are concentrated in my son, the spin quantum bit!
My weaknesses vs. my son’s strengths = reasons to include spin qubits in research.
One of the challenges that researchers had to overcome before I could be successfully used in the commercial sector was the extreme fragility of my structure. How fragility? Any noise or unintentional observation could result in data loss.
At the same time, this fragility will be more dependent on low temperature environments, which poses huge challenges to the materials needed to make chips and the control electronic devices that use quantum bits.
Additionally, because superconducting qubits (my other son) are so large that they can be run in systems as small as 55 gallons in diameter, this makes it difficult to design quantum systems that scale to millions of qubits—which is exactly what is needed to create a truly useful commercial system.
Spin quantum bits do not have these weaknesses and are therefore being cultivated as the important "successors" at present. How is the research progress?
At the recent annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), QuTech demonstrated a dual-qubit spin quantum computer that can be programmed to execute two simple quantum algorithms.
This development paves the way for the creation of larger spin-based processors that can be used in more complex applications.