Quantum-computing approach uses single molecules as qubits for first time (2024)

NEWS
07 December 2023
Correction 08 December 2023

Platforms based on molecules manipulated using ‘optical tweezers’ might be able to perform complex physics calculations.

Davide Castelvecchi

Davide Castelvecchi

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Physicists have taken the first step towards building quantum computers out of individual molecules trapped with laser devices called optical tweezers. Two teams report their results in Science on 7 December¹^,², in both cases making pairs of calcium monofluoride molecules interact so that they became entangled — a crucial effect for quantum computing.

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Updates & Corrections

Correction 08 December 2023: An earlier version of this article spelled Hannah Williams’s name incorrectly. This has now been amended.

References

Bao, Y. et al. Science https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adf8999 (2023).
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Holland, C. et al. Science https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adf4272 (2023).
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