Waterloo quantum scientists are one step closer to developing the materials needed for future quantum devices. They have discovered a method for growing crystalline structures that will act as platforms for robust quantum computing applications.
Dr. Jonathan Baugh, a professor in the Department of Chemistry, and doctoral student E. Annelise Bergeron from the Department of Physics and Astronomy have found a method for growing crystalline structures using the semiconductor indium antimonide.
They created an indium antimonide platform designed for a type of qubit known as a Majorana fermion. While still theoretical, these qubits are predicted to have better resilience to noise and decoherence, an attractive quality that could make future quantum computers less susceptible to errors.
Now that the team has successfully overcome the hurdles for growing and characterizing these 2D electron gases in indium antimonide, they are excited to use this platform as a starting point for future work.
“We’re hoping that our research is setting the stage for a really unique new platform on which to build more interesting quantum devices and probe whether we can detect Majorana fermions,” said Baugh, a member of the Institute for Quantum Computing. “We’re at the dawn of working with this new material to see where we can take it.”
To learn more, please read the article "Designing new materials as platforms for robust quantum devices" on the Institute for Quantum Computing's website.