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back to article Boffins show off speedy quantum CNOT gate - in silicon

German and American boffins have claimed a speed record for a quantum CNOT gate: 200 nanosecond operation, which would equate to 5 MHz clock speeds. Just as important, the researchers created the quantum CNOT* gate in silicon, in the form of electron spins controlled by microwave pulses. As this announcement from the …

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  1. TonyWilk
    Happy

    5MHz clock speed

    Pffft, overclocked a good ol' Z80 to about 5MHz once - and at that speed it would do different things if you so much as looked at it.

    Didn't realise at the time, it must have been going all Quantum !

    12 0 Reply
  2. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    Go

    One of the things that makes transistors so handy is what controls them is made by them.

    A voltage on a MOS gate creates current flow (or not) that can generate a voltage on the gate it's connected to.

    But this thing seems to be more in Electron Spin Resonance territory, so you need an RF receiver to detect the output of the "gates"

    On the upside if you can put both electrons on the same atom you've beaten the (apparently) absolute "1 atom wide linewidth" for Silicon without needing 1 atom wide lithography.

    So potentially very clever (especially at near room temperature, often an Achilles heel of this tech).

    1 1 Reply
  3. Michael H.F. Wilkinson Silver badge
    Coat

    We certainly live in interesting times ...

    especially with our growing ability to control uncertainty

    Sorry, couldn't resist. The one with Erwin Schrödinger's "What is Life?" in the pocket (fascinating read), please!

    3 0 Reply
    1. FrancisKing
      Reply Icon

      Re: We certainly live in interesting times ...

      OK. But is the book in the left pocket, the right pocket, or a superposition of both?

      7 0 Reply
      1. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: We certainly live in interesting times ...

        Both pockets, until you attempt to read it, at which point you hear lots of fabric ripping.

        4 0 Reply
  4. User McUser
    Thumb Up

    The Future is Now

    “We use the CNOT gate to generate a Bell state with 75 per cent fidelity, limited by quantum state readout”

    It's official - real life science now sounds like SciFi technobabble.

    8 0 Reply
  5. Crisp

    Am I going to need to learn quantum mechanics to write code in the future?

    If I start learning tensor calculus about ten years ago I might be ready in time for the next computing revolution.

    4 0 Reply
    1. Throatwarbler Mangrove Silver badge
      Reply Icon
      Joke

      Re: Am I going to need to learn quantum mechanics to write code in the future?

      You will have to learn it, but you still won't be able to understand it.

      5 0 Reply
    2. John Smith 19 Gold badge
      Reply Icon
      Unhappy

      If I start learning tensor calculus about ten years ago I might be ready in time

      Tensor maths is looking to be a key enabler to understanding the complete theory of various materials and quantum situations.

      It's the "scale invariance" features that are quite impressive.

      There is a tensor maths text book on the NASA website.

      1 1 Reply

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