First Programmable Quantum Computer Created Science News (12/19/09) Vol. 176, No. 13, P. 13; Sanders, Laura
as it appeared in the December 30, 2009 edition of ACM TechNews.
Researchers led by David Hanneke of the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology have constructed the first programmable quantum computer. Two ions of beryllium chilled to almost absolute zero and trapped by an electromagnetic field on a gold-plated alumina chip functioned as the quantum bits (qubits). The ions were manipulated into executing the processing operations via short laser bursts, and were kept cool and still by magnesium ions. The researchers programmed the computer to perform operations on a single beryllium ion and on both of the beryllium ions together. The new system carried out 160 randomly selected processing routines. Each program was run 900 times, and the system functioned accurately 79 percent of the time, on average. It has been estimated by earlier research that a practical quantum computer must be accurate 99.99 percent of the time, and Hanneke says the system's accuracy could be upgraded with stronger lasers and other enhancements. "What's most impressive and important is that they did it in the way that can be applied to a larger-scale system," says University of Washington in Seattle physicist Boris Blinov. "The very same techniques they've used for two qubits can be applied to much larger systems." View Full Article
