Microsoft discovers a new state of matter for quantum computing

Microsoft announced a breakthrough in quantum computing based on topological superconductivity, a new state of matter that the company says will enable the construction of functional quantum computers in the coming years.

The research, published in Nature , details how Microsoft developed a quantum processor called Majorana 1 , based on a particle known as a Majorana fermion .

Chetan Nayak, a physicist at the University of California and principal investigator for Microsoft Azure Quantum, said the discovery represents a crucial step forward for quantum computing.

“We will have a fault-tolerant quantum computer in years, not decades,” Nayak said.

Microsoft's breakthrough lies in the creation of a particle with unique quantum properties , capable of forming more stable qubits than conventional ones.

The stability of qubits is one of the biggest challenges in quantum computing, as quantum particles typically lose their properties in a matter of milliseconds.

To create this new state of matter, the research team combined indium arsenide , a semiconductor, with aluminum, a superconductor. When these materials are cooled to -273.15 °C and exposed to specific magnetic fields, topological superconducting nanowires are generated that exhibit Majorana Zero Modes (MZM) at their ends.

The Majorana fermion was theorized in 1937 by physicist Ettore Majorana, but its existence in materials applicable to quantum computing has been a scientific challenge.

Microsoft claims to have overcome this obstacle and achieved parity measurement, a method that allows checking whether qubits hold information without errors.

This validation was performed using single-shot fermion parity measurements, a technique that provides definitive results without the need to average multiple measurements.

The announcement has raised expectations in the technology industry, but has also been met with skepticism by some experts. George Booth, professor of theoretical physics at King's College London, highlighted the difference between Microsoft's strategy and that of other companies that seek to increase the number of qubits while developing techniques to correct errors.

“They don’t quite prove unequivocally that they can measure a complete topological qubit, but they get close to a viable topological qubit,” Booth said.

In the past, some Microsoft studies on the topic have had to be retracted due to errors, leading to some reservations in the scientific community. “I think for many there is still a healthy skepticism about the timescales for the roadmaps of some of these technology companies,” Booth said, cautioning that the “years” timeframe cited by Microsoft has yet to be confirmed by practical progress.

Despite these reservations, the announcement represents a step forward in the race to build a functional quantum computer. If the viability of topological qubits is confirmed, the technology could enable the creation of scalable and fault-tolerant quantum computers, a goal that so far remains a challenge in the field of quantum computing.