The world is abuzz with Microsoft’s announcement today of the introduction of their Majorana 1 chip. It could represent a series of important breakthroughs in producing powerful quantum computers.
The chip represents a radically different architecture that could be very stable and scalable, potentially enabling millions of qubits on a single chip. Microsoft has shifted to use topological states as part of the core design. This represents a different way of stabilizing the state measurements and improving the resistance to noise interference, thus reducing the need for massive error-correction.
This architecture could represent a huge step forward in the future of building affordable powerful quantum computers.
It is still early. The Majorana 1 chip is not very computationally powerful, as it represents a proof in moving in a new direction. Microsoft is not releasing specifics for the number of cubits or error correction of this first generation, as it is less important than simply proving the feasibility of this architecture.
I look forward to more research details around the computational power, superconducting requirements, and necessity of exotic materials.
If this direction proves itself as the best path forward to solve many of the biggest current challenges, it could lead to much improved miniaturization, lower manufacturing costs, and greater performance speeds for future generations of chips based upon this architecture!
From the cybersecurity front, we must keep abreast of the computational power such systems will provide as it will eventually drive major shifts from quantum vulnerable encryption algorithms to the adoption of quantum resistant algorithms that protect much of the secure communications and transactions on the Internet.
Big congrats to the Microsoft research team, including technical fellows: Chetan Nayak, Matthias Troyer, and Krysta Svore
Microsoft Announcement: https://news.microsoft.com/source/features/innovation/microsofts-majorana-1-chip-carves-new-path-for-quantum-computing/
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