New step in quantum computer development

Quantum computers use qubits, which can take on many values and can be zero and one at the same time. The promise is that this enables them to calculate much faster than a conventional computer. Although quantum computers currently often consist of only a handful of interconnected qubits, eventually there will need to be many thousands or even millions. It is important to know how well the individual qubits perform.

That is why researchers at QuTech have now developed a method that allows them to test 1058 qubits at once, in theory. To do this, they built a new type of test chip: QARPET (Qubit-Array Research Platform for Engineering and Testing).

The chip is so compactly woven that under a microscope it resembles a woven carpet, but on a nanoscale.

“When I designed the first layouts, I honestly did not expect them to work,”says Alberto Tosato, who was responsible for the engineering. “It pushes the limits of nanofabrication.” The research is described in Nature Electronics.