A screenshot of the paper on the web page of the academic journal Nature. / CGTN
A screenshot of the paper on the web page of the academic journal Nature. / CGTN
Chinese scientists have found a way to form an orderly and tunable Majorana zero-mode (MZM) grid, a milestone step to greatly improve the performance of quantum calculations.
The research results were published in the academic journal Nature on June 8, led by researchers from the Institute of Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Boston College.
MZMs are seen as building blocks for constructing topological qubits. A qubit is a quantum bit, the basic information unit of a quantum computer.
“Four MZMs can be woven into a topological qubit, which is considered an important way to achieve fault-tolerant topological quantum computation,” said Gao Hongjun, one of the corresponding authors of the article, according to the Wenhui Daily.
The isolated MZMs are found in the topological vortex nuclei of the superconductors with topological band structures. Using an external magnetic field, the researchers discover that more than 90 percent of the vortices are topological and have characteristics of isolated MZMs at the vortex center of the iron-based superconductors stoichiometric LiFeAs that form an ordered and tunable MZM grid.
Corresponding Author Gao Hongjun Introduces Research Results at a Press Conference on June 6, 2022. / CFP
Corresponding Author Gao Hongjun Introduces Research Results at a Press Conference on June 6, 2022. / CFP
The orderly and adjustable MZM grid can help overcome the environmental interference – a long-standing obstacle in quantum computing – and provides a more reliable and more efficient quantum computing capacity.
“Our results provide a path toward adjustable and orderly MZM grids as a platform for future topological quantum computing,” the paper said.
Read more: Uncovering China’s deep dives in quantum technology
