The chip leverages a topoconductor, a new type of material capable of controling Majorana particles to produce more reliable and scalable qubits, the building blocks for quantum computers.
The in-house developed chip is designed to work in tandem with control logic systems, a dilution refrigerator, and a software stack capable of integrating with classical and AI-enabled computers.
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“We took a step back and said ‘OK, let’s invent the transistor for the quantum age. What properties does it need to have?’” said Chetan Nayak, a Microsoft technical fellow. “That’s really how we got here – it’s the particular combination, the quality and the important details in our new materials stack that have enabled a new kind of qubit and ultimately our entire architecture.”
Unlike Willow, Google’s latest quantum computing chip, Microsoft’s Majorana 1 is a topological superconductor that creates an entirely new state of matter – not a solid, liquid or gas.
Instead, the topological state created by the chip produces a more stable qubit that is fast, small and can be digitally controlled.
Think of a traditional qubit like trying to balance a pencil on its tip — it's extremely sensitive and easily disturbed. Microsoft’s Majorana 1 chip acts like a self-stabilising mechanism, similar to how a bicycle’s training wheels help keep it upright or how a car’s suspension smooths out bumps in the road.
By using a new topological material, the chip naturally resists disturbances, making its qubits more reliable and scalable for quantum computing
Microsoft’s quantum researchers have long-pursed using topology to create qubits. The issue was that Majorana particulars don’t exist in nature and can only be coaxed into existence using magnetic fields and superconductors.
In a newly published paper in the Nature Journal, Microsoft researchers showed they were able to create Majorana particles but also protect quantum information from random disturbances and measure the related information.
“From the start, we wanted to make a quantum computer for commercial impact, not just thought leadership,” said Matthias Troyer, a Microsoft technical fellow. “We knew we needed a new qubit. We knew we had to scale.”
Microsoft said its new Majorana 1 processor provides it a path to it a million qubits on a single chip. A million qubits is the golden number needed for quantum computers to deliver meaningful applications. Unlike conventional qubits, which require extensive error correction, Majorana-based qubits incorporate error resistance at the hardware level, making large-scale quantum systems more feasible.
“Whatever you’re doing in the quantum space needs to have a path to a million qubits. If it doesn’t, you’re going to hit a wall before you get to the scale at which you can solve the really important problems that motivate us,” Nayak said. “We have actually worked out a path to a million.”
Microsoft’s quantum approach has also attracted attention from the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
The company is one of only two invited to the final phase of the agency’s US2QC program, which aims to accelerate the development of fault-tolerant, utility-scale quantum computers capable of delivering practical value.
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