Microsoft deploys new state of matter in its first quantum computing chip

Microsoft on Wednesday announced Majorana 1, its first quantum computing chip. The achievement comes after the company spent nearly two decades of research in the field, but Microsoft claims that building Majorana 1 required that it create an entirely new state of matter, which it is referring to as a topological state. Microsoft's quantum chip employs eight topological qubits using indium arsenide, which is a semiconductor, and aluminum, which is a superconductor. "The difficulty of developing the right materials to create the exotic particles and their associated topological state of matter is why most quantum efforts have focused on other kinds of qubits," the company said in a blog Wednesday. Understanding topological matter and getting it to work in building a quantum-computing chip required that Microsoft spray atom by atom to get the materials to line up perfectly, the company wrote in the blog. "Ironically, it's also why we need a quantum computer — because understanding t ... Read full article.