Hybrid qubits solve key hurdle to quantum computing

Scientists say they have solved a key hurdle to quantum computing by creating a new hybrid device that can be quickly initialised and read out.

Spin-based quantum computers have the potential to tackle difficult mathematical problems that cannot be solved using ordinary computers, but many problems remain in making these machines scalable, according to the study published in the journal Nature Communications.

Researchers led by the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science in Japan have constructed a hybrid device made from two different types of qubit --the fundamental computing element of quantum computers.

As conventional computers appear to be reaching a limit, quantum computers have been touted as potential replacements, and they can tackle problems in a very different and potentially much more rapid way.

However, it has proven difficult to scale them up to the size required for performing real-world calculations.

In 1998, Daniel Loss, one of the authors of the current study, came up with a proposal, along with David DiVincenzo of IBM, to build a quantum computer by using the spins of electrons embedded in a quantum dot -- a small particle that behaves like an atom, but that can be manipulated, so that they are sometimes called "artificial atoms."