A research team led by National Tsing Hua University Department of Physics and Center for Quantum Science and Technology professor Chuu Chih-sung (褚志崧) has developed Taiwan’s first and the world’s smallest quantum computer, using a single photon, the university said yesterday.
Chuu said in the study, which was published in the journal Physical Review Applied last month, that they had resolved the main obstacles for quantum computing development — high energy costs and a low-temperature operating environment.
Chuu said that photons are the smallest possible particle of electromagnetic energy, and his team had devised a way to encode information in 32time bins, or dimensions, of a single photon.
Photo: Hung Mei-hsiu, Taipei Times
Photons can be kept at a stable quantum state even at room temperature, he said.
Quantum computing is normally prone to information loss and calculation errors from vibrations or magnetic fields, he said.
However, photons have a more extended range of transmission, and they are less prone to interference, which contributes to a unique advantage when developing a commercialized quantum computer, he added.
Traditional computers enact computation on circuit boards, while quantum computing relays information through photonics and enacts computation using quantum physics.
The smallest unit of digital information in a traditional computer is the binary digit, or bit, which can only represent 0 or 1, Chuu said.
However, the quantum bit, or qubit, can be processed as both 0 and 1, a characteristic referred to as quantum superposition, he added.
Superposition enables quantum computing to process complex computations, such as prime factorizations or big data searches, up to 100 million times faster than traditional computers.
University president John Kao (高為元) said the paper’s publication in Physical Review Applied was an excellent milestone for quantum computing, as the device could operate at room temperature and was compact.
Kao said he remembered touring the US’ most advanced quantum computer lab last year.
He was struck by the enormity of the cooling system, which took up a whole room and kept temperatures at extremely low levels, Kao said.
Separately, the National Science and Technology Council has invited Alain Aspect, the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics laureate, to attend this year’s Quantum Taiwan event, highlighting the nation’s focus on developing quantum technology.
The event would discuss quantum technology, superconducting quantum computers, quantum communications, quantum metrology, sensing and imaging.
National Science and Technology Council Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) said quantum technology promises unforeseen computational abilities and could make communication safer.
The seminar is aimed at fostering international collaboration in creating a global platform to further develop quantum technology and ensure that Taiwan is an indispensable member of the global quantum technology development effort, Wu added.
The Philippine Coast Guard yesterday said it has deployed its largest vessel and an aircraft to challenge a Chinese research ship operating off northern Batanes near Taiwan, adding that a Chinese coast guard vessel had also moved in. The Philippine operation “disrupted the vessel’s unauthorized marine scientific research and compelled it to leave its loitering position,” said Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson on South China Sea issues. The Philippine Coast Guard said the BRP Teresa Magbanua and an aircraft were deployed to counter the Chinese vessel, which it said had remained about 37 nautical miles northwest of Itbayat Island since Monday. The
RUNWAY: Analysts said the first aircraft landing is expected by the middle of next year, while Chinese state media said it would serve civilian needs Chinese construction of a runway on Antelope Reef (Lingyang Reef, 羚羊礁) in the Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島), is well under way with analysts estimating it could be completed by the middle of next year, strengthening Beijing’s military control over the disputed South China Sea. Satellite images reviewed by Reuters show grading work, piles of gravel and concrete, and compaction cranes in operation to build a full-scale runway that military attaches and security analysts say could be one of China’s most important offshore bases in the region. The images, taken on Friday last week by commercial satellite imagery provider Vantor, also show
RESILIENCE: Keeping the defense industry’s assembly lines open would prove essential should the nation be involved in a prolonged conflict, a source said The Ministry of National Defense has prepared a NT$22 billion (US$692.3 million) program to acquire about 200 improved Hsiung Feng anti-ship missiles from next year to 2035, a source said. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a high-ranking defense official said the ministry’s plan for enhanced-capability Hsiung Feng II and Hsiung Feng III missiles would be funded as part of the regular defense budget. The 200 missiles would be added on top of the 1,400 missiles being funded via the Sea-Air Combat Power Improvement Plan, they said. The program is not about padding missile numbers, but expanding the capability to defeat
DEFENSE: The US House speaker dismissed speculation that Trump is using arms sales as a negotiating tactic with Beijing amid concern over delayed deliveries Taiwan is a partner whose “stability and independence” are important to US national security and the economy, US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson said on Monday when asked about arms sales to Taipei in an interview with Fox Business. Asked whether US President Donald Trump was using a long-delayed US$14 billion arms deal as a negotiating tactic for trade with Beijing, Johnson said that he “wouldn’t read too much into that.” The delayed arms package is “related to the Iran conflict” and the need for missile stocks in the Middle East, he said. “If you look over [Trump’s] two terms, he will
RSS