Small, room-temperature quantum computers that use light are on the horizon

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Small, room-temperature quantum computers that use light on the horizon after breakthrough, scientists say

July 3, 2025

Scientists say they’ve cracked a key challenge in scalable quantum hardware after generating an error-correcting, light-based qubit on a chip for the first time.

Scientists have demonstrated that a photonic qubit — a quantum bit powered by a particle of light — can detect and correct its own errors while running at room temperature.

They say it is a foundational step toward scalable quantum processors.

In a new study published June 4 in the journal Nature, researchers at Canadian quantum computing startup Xanadu created a so-called "Gottesman–Kitaev–Preskill" (GKP) state directly on a silicon chip.

GKP states are a type of quantum state that spreads information across multiple photons in a pattern that enables small errors to be spotted and corrected.

This means that each qubit is capable of correcting itself, without needing to be bundled into large arrays of redundant qubits — a common requirement in today’s error-correction methods.

It marks the first time this type of error-resistant quantum state has been generated using a process compatible with conventional chip manufacturing, the scientists said.

The breakthrough suggests that error-correcting quantum states could be produced with the same tools used to manufacture conventional computer chips — bringing reliable, room-temperature quantum hardware a step closer to reality.

The qubit-cooling conundrum:

Quantum computers work very differently from the classical machines we use today. Classical computers store information in binary bits, represented as either 1s or 0s.

Quantum systems, meanwhile, use qubits that can exist in a "superposition" of both states. This enables them to solve complex calculations in parallel, and they can one day perform far beyond the reach of conventional systems.

But qubits are notoriously fragile. Even the smallest fluctuations in temperature, electromagnetic radiation or environmental noise can disrupt a qubit’s state and corrupt its data.

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Scientists say this is the first time a specific type of error-resistant quantum state has been generated using a process compatible with conventional chip manufacturing. (Image credit: Getty Images/KTSDesign/SCIENCEPHOTOLIBRARY)