Last week Chinese scientists created a high vacuum storage box that can store quantum chips. The device is called a quantum chip refrigerator as it helps maintain a stable environment to keep the quantum chips. 

source: Science and Daily

Developed by Anhui Quantum Computing Engineering Research Center of China, the quantum chip refrigerator comes with three storage cavities that can be accessed and operated independently. It features a smart monitoring system that can gauge the vacuum degree in real-time and provide a stable high-vacuum environment that helps to preserve the chip for a long period. The device can be operated automatically as it comes with a specially designed human-computer interaction interface. 

Jia Zhilong, deputy director of the Quantum Computing Engineering Research Center said that quantum chips are the core components of quantum computers and unlike traditional chips, they need to go through a much more complex process of production. The quantum chip is sensitive to ambient temperature, cleanliness, noise, vibration, electromagnetic waves, and more. The superconducting material used in a quantum chip can have a chemical reaction with oxygen and water molecules in the air and lose its optimum quality. Thus it is very important to store the chips in a quantum refrigerator that is specially designed to provide a safe and stable environment for the chips. 

What is Quantum Chip?

A quantum chip is used as a processor for quantum computers and contains quantum bits or ‘qbits’ which is a key feature of the chip. The qbits are extraordinary because they can have a value of 0,1 or both, unlike the classical computing bit that can have a value of either 0 or 1. Thus qbits give quantum computers the ability to process equations and algorithms exponentially faster than classical computers.

Using quantum chips, quantum computers can solve complex problems in seconds which even the most powerful supercomputer on the planet would take years to solve. This advanced quantum computing technology will open new frontiers in mathematics, physics, and science and even help to find solutions for existential problems like climate change and natural disasters. 

With the quantum refrigerator, Chinese researchers have solved the problem of storing quantum chips for a long period. This in turn will help in making quantum computers on a large scale in the future.  

Related:

(via)