Researchers have created the first "bridge" capable of combining many quantum computers

Powerful modern supercomputers consist of ordinary computers and are connected with each other by so-called "interconnectors" to increase performance. Despite the fact that before the invention of the "ordinary" complicated quantum computer is still far away, scientists are already thinking about how to combine them into super-powerful machines. And more recently, researchers at Harvard University and Sandia Labs have created a "bridge" for connecting quantum computers into a single computing system.

At the moment, existing quantum computers have extremely low potential and can perform only the simplest tasks. To such machines, for example, is the Quantum Experience. This one of the most advanced to date quantum computers, can perform only one action per thread, and all attempts to create a "multithreaded" computer are not successful. It was then that scientists thought that it is possible to use several machines "as one". According to Sandia scientist Ryan Camacho,

"People have long ago created the simplest quantum computers. And it is quite likely that the next stage will not be the creation of one large and powerful quantum computer, but of a whole system consisting of related simple quantum computers. In order to connect quantum computers into a single whole, a bridge is required that can separate the quantum information between several devices. In other words, this bridge should do so that all the atoms contained in the system behave as if they are one single atom. "

Two groups of researchers are trying to achieve this in a slightly elegant way: by using an ion implantation device in the crystal lattice of the diamond compound, the carbon atom has been replaced by a silicon atom. Thus, a larger silicon atom "moved" the boundaries around itself, creating a sort of buffer zone. This zone, first, acts as an insulator, and secondly, creates a vacuum within itself. What is it all about?

The point is that when a photon beam passes through such a compound, all the silicon atoms come into an excited state, their electrons transfer to higher energy orbits. Then, when the electrons return to their original state, they begin to emit photons in the same state as the particles that triggered the initial reaction.

"The first thing we managed to do is to place the silicon atoms in the strictly defined places of the crystal lattice, located much below the surface level. Now we are able to create thousands of such "silicon defects" that will be located in a strict order. If earlier we had to be able to isolate photons from one of the thousands of randomly scattered light sources, now we can precisely tell which silicon atom any of the photons was emitted, "explains Ryan Camacho.

Given the successful passing of test tests, such an ordered system can become a bridge that will unite a huge number of quantum computers into a single unit, which will be able to give incredibly fast computational speeds.

The article is based on materials https://hi-news.ru/computers/issledovateli-sozdali-pervyj-most-sposobnyj-obedinit-mnozhestvo-kvantovyx-kompyuterov.html.