New analysis investigates the electron-on-solid-neon qubit, revealing that small bumps on stable neon surfaces create steady quantum states, enabling exact manipulation. This analysis, supported by a number of foundations, emphasizes the significance of optimizing qubit fabrication, transferring us nearer to sensible quantum computing options.
Latest analysis has superior the event of electron-on-solid-neon qubits, revealing key insights that enhance quantum computing by extending qubit coherence occasions and optimizing their design.
Quantum computer systems have the potential to be revolutionary instruments for his or her capability to carry out calculations that might take classical computer systems a few years to resolve.
However to make an efficient quantum computer, you want a dependable quantum bit, or qubit, that may exist in a simultaneous 0 or 1 state for a sufficiently lengthy interval, often called its coherence time.
One promising strategy is trapping a single electron on a stable neon floor, referred to as an electron-on-solid-neon qubit. A examine led by FAMU-FSU School of Engineering Professor Wei Guo that was printed in Bodily Evaluate Letters exhibits new perception into the quantum state that describes the situation of electrons on such a qubit, data that may assist engineers construct this modern know-how.
A diagram of an electron-on-solid-neon quantum bit. Credit score: Courtesy of Wei Guo
Quantum State Dynamics and Qubit Design
Guo’s staff discovered that small bumps on the floor of stable neon within the qubit can naturally bind electrons, which creates ring-shaped quantum states of those electrons. The quantum state refers back to the numerous properties of an electron, resembling place, momentum, and different traits, earlier than they’re measured. When the bumps are a sure dimension, the electron’s transition vitality — the quantity of vitality required for an electron to maneuver from one quantum ring state to a different — aligns with the vitality of microwave photons, one other elementary particle.
Wei Guo, a professor within the Division of Mechanical Engineering on the FAMU-FSU School of Engineering. Credit score: Mark Wallheiser/FAMU-FSU School of Engineering
This alignment permits for managed manipulation of the electron, which is required for quantum computing.
“This work considerably advances our understanding of the electron-trapping mechanism on a promising quantum computing platform,” Guo stated. “It not solely clarifies puzzling experimental observations but additionally delivers essential insights for the design, optimization, and management of electron-on-solid-neon qubits.”
Previous work by Guo and collaborators demonstrated the viability of a solid-state single-electron qubit platform utilizing electrons trapped on stable neon. Latest analysis confirmed coherence occasions as nice as 0.1 milliseconds, or 100 occasions longer than typical coherence occasions of 1 microsecond for typical semiconductor-based and superconductor-based cost qubits.
Coherence time determines how lengthy a quantum system can preserve a superposition state — the power of the system to be in a number of states on the identical time till it’s measured, which is one attribute that offers quantum computer systems their distinctive skills.
Optimizing Qubit Efficiency
The prolonged coherence time of the electron-on-solid-neon qubit will be attributed to the inertness and purity of stable neon. This qubit system additionally addresses the difficulty of liquid floor vibrations, an issue inherent within the extra extensively studied electron-on-liquid-helium qubit. The present analysis provides essential insights into optimizing the electron-on-solid-neon qubit additional.
A vital a part of that optimization is creating qubits which are clean by a lot of the stable neon floor however have bumps of the proper dimension the place they’re wanted. Designers need minimal naturally occurring bumps on the floor that entice disruptive background electrical cost. On the identical time, deliberately fabricating bumps of the right dimension throughout the microwave resonator on the qubit improves the power to entice electrons.
“This analysis underscores the important want for additional examine of how completely different situations have an effect on neon qubit manufacturing,” Guo stated. “Neon injection temperatures and strain affect the ultimate qubit product. The extra management we now have over this course of, the extra exact we are able to construct, and the nearer we transfer to quantum computing that may resolve presently unmanageable calculations.”
Reference: “Single-Electron Qubits Based mostly on Quantum Ring States on Stable Neon Floor” by Toshiaki Kanai, Dafei Jin and Wei Guo, 18 June 2024, Bodily Evaluate Letters.
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.132.250603
Co-authors on this paper have been Toshiaki Kanai, a former graduate analysis pupil within the FSU Division of Physics, and Dafei Jin, an affiliate professor on the College of Notre Dame.
The analysis was supported by the Nationwide Science Basis, the Gordon and Betty Moore Basis, and the Air Pressure Workplace of Scientific Analysis.
