why it matters: Quantum computers promise to deal with problems that also stump the most advanced supercomputers. However, there is a different story, though. One of the biggest obstacles is connecting several quantum processors efficiently so that they can share information without errors. A new interconnect device by MIT researchers can solve this problem.
Current quantum-computing systems clunky rely on the “point-to-point” connection, where the data is transferred to a series and has to jump between the nodes. Unfortunately, every hop also increases the possibility of errors.
To address the issue, MIT researchers developed a quantum interconnect component that allows the superconducting processor to talk directly to each other without “middleman”. The device uses microwave photons for shuttle data, and it can eventually pave the way for a scalable, error-resistant quantum super computer.
The heart of this success has a superconducting wire (a wavegide), which acts as a quantum highway that allows the photon to zip between the processor. The team connected two quantum modules to this wavegide, allowing them to send and receive photons on demand. Each module consists of four qualities that act as an interface and convert photons into usable quantum data.
Accurately involved in developing distance complication in developing scalable quantum computers. This bizarre event combines two quantum particles that immediately correspond to each other’s position regardless of distance. Complicated Qubetes act as a single system, which can never perform traditional computers.
Unfortunately, just firing full photon back and forth does not enable entangle. Therefore, researchers prepared an odd process that prevents the emission process by halfway. By doing this the system is left in a strange quantum limbo, where the photon is contradictory and maintained together. When the receiving module absorbs this “half-photon”, two processors get entangled-they are not physically connected.
Researchers also have to deal with photon deformation as they travel, which makes them more challenging to catch. To resolve this problem, the team trained an algorithm to make the size of the photon for maximum absorption. The result was a 60 percent success rate-enough to confirm the confirmation. These results are similar to the method of Oxford, which uses an ion trap to create a successful complication of 70 percent of the time.
The implications are heavy. Unlike today’s patchwork quantum setup, this architecture supports “all-to-all” connectivity, which means that any number of processors can communicate directly. Future improvements such as 3D integration or rapid protocols can also increase absorption rate.
“In principle, our distance complicated generation protocols can also be expanded to other types of quantum computers and large quantum internet systems,” Azija Almancli, an electrical engineering and computer science graduate student, was concluded.
The team recently published its research in Nature Physics. It is also worth noting that the US Army Research Office, AWS Center for Quantum Computing, and the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research funded MIT’s efforts.
Image Credit: Ella Maru Studio
