Hardware

IBM takes quantum computing to the next level

By // February 27, 2012, 9:15 PM PST

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  • IBM brings quantum computing to the next level by relying on quantum bits (qubits) which are the basic units that carry data in quantum computing. Qubits can potentially work on millions of computations at once - far outperforming a PC. For more read Larry Dignan's blog.

    This is a 3D supercomputing qubit device.
    which is suspended in the center of the cavity on a small Sapphire chip. A qubit is about 1mm in length.

    Credit: IBM

  • Here's the side view of the 3D qubit device.

    Credit: IBM

  • This Silicon chip housing a total of three qubits. The chip is back-mounted on a PC board and connects to I/O coaxial lines via wire bonds (scale: 8mm x 4mm). A larger assembly of such qubits and resonators are envisioned to be used for a scalable architecture.

    Credit: IBM

  • Here's a wider view of the Silicon chip housing a total of three qubits. The chip is back-mounted on a PC board and connects to I/O coaxial lines via wire bonds (scale: 8mm x 4mm). A larger assembly of such qubits and resonators are envisioned to be used for a scalable architecture.

    Credit: IBM

  • Here's a magnified qubit.

    Credit: IBM

  •  IBM needs a dilution refrigerator to keep the temperature down to 15 to 20 millikelvin so that the quantum states stay very pure and helps put them into their ground states before any experiments are done. IBM keeps the qubits this cold to cut down on "thermal noise."

    Credit: IBM

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IBM brings quantum computing to the next level by relying on quantum bits (qubits) which are the basic units that carry data in quantum computing. Qubits can potentially work on millions of computations at once - far outperforming a PC. For more read Larry Dignan's blog.

This is a 3D supercomputing qubit device.
which is suspended in the center of the cavity on a small Sapphire chip. A qubit is about 1mm in length.

Credit: IBM

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