Quantum simulator to find materials for next-gen electronics
A new quantum simulator might help discover new, complex materials that can be used to design high-performance electronics.
Next generation electronics will be made using faster, more powerful and more energy efficient materials. This includes semiconductors, insulators and superconductors.
Findings such new materials can be laborious. Scientists spend a lot of time, energy and resources synthesising them. It’s a lot of effort which may just end up resulting in a material showing that it’s not up to the task.
There is a more efficient way of working out the physical properties of a material: simulation.
Currently, for complex materials, researchers have to use the world’s most powerful supercomputers to mimic the chemical composition and determine the materials’ properties.
Quantum computers promise to be able to perform the simulations much faster and emulate more complex chemistries. But these devices are a way off yet. Quantum simulators suffer from quantum “noise” which can cause errors in calculations.
A new device developed by researchers at MIT has been effective in generating synthetic electromagnetic fields and simulate how electrons move between atoms in the presence of an electromagnetic field.
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