Part 4/10:
The journey toward quantum hardware has been anything but straightforward. Microsoft’s quantum computing initiative began in 2004 and has faced numerous challenges, including a retracted paper in 2018. A pivotal breakthrough was the realization of the Majorana fermion and the discovery of a new phase of matter known as the topological phase. This insight led to the innovation of a topological conductor, moving beyond traditional semiconductors and permitting the integration of millions of qubits onto a single chip.
The quantum chip prototype developed is remarkably small, fitting in the palm of the hand, with each qubit measuring merely 1/100th of a millimeter. This size efficiency is crucial as Microsoft aims to scale this technology reliably.