Accomplishing a scientific breakthrough, physicists at National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated the first universal programmable quantum processor. The processor using two quantum bits (qubits) of data has been made to run any programs permissible by quantum computing. In the processor the binary information, ones and zeros, is stored in two beryllium ions (electrically charged atoms) held together in an electromagnetic trap and influenced by the UV lasers.
The NIST team carried out 160 different processing routines on the two qubits, revealing a plethora of issues we had been uninformed of and similarly revealing the hurdles that need to be put straight before the computer can actually be set to work. This research is the first time that a quantum processor has been demonstrated to perform more than a single task, i.e. a quantum processor demonstrated for more than one qubit.
For this the researchers analyzed the quantum processor with the methods used in traditional computers, wherein they used this to process the operations required to run a program. The usage of ions has perhaps opened ways for several types of qubits, thus we believe that if they can be built and then we could have the processor as a module for the future quantum computer.
Via: Physorg
