Posted: Jul 07, 2017 |
Majorana-highway on a chip
(Nanowerk News) The first experimental evidence of a Majorana fermion in Delft 2012 led to a wave of scientific enthusiasm: control such particles are a holy grail in quantum science and technology.
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Quantum chips based on Majorana fermions promise error-protected quantum computations. However, the fabrication of Majorana-devices is an extremely challenging task.
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Hao Zhang (left) and Önder Gül with the Majorana-chip and experimental setup.
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A collaboration of researchers has now combined novel nanowires with a high-quality interface to other required materials on a chip (Nature, "Ballistic superconductivity in semiconductor nanowires").
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This allows for bullet-like collisionless quantum transport of charges through the nanowires: a requirement for larger-scale Majorana-based experiment.
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The novel methods open doors towards quantum computations based on Majorana fermions, allow for the exploration of new quantum effects in such materials ánd can have future applications in energy-efficient electronics.
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See the below infographic made by Bruno van Wayenburg for all interesting details of this novel quantum chip and its future applications:
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(click on image to enlarge)
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