Scientists Build a Quantum Computer Inside a Diamond

However, in quantum computing these imperfections have been found to deliver a huge benefit. Scientists at the University of Southern California (USC) said that were able to build a quantum computer system within a diamond that leveraged imperfections. The spin of a rogue nitrogen nucleus was employed as on qubit and the spin of an electron in another flaw was used as a second qubit.

In contrast to typical quantum computing experiments that may take place in liquid or gas, the diamond-based environment protects quantum computing operations from decoherence, or loss of information caused by influencing factors described as noise. According to the researchers, solid-state quantum computing systems have been built before, but they claim their invention is the first system that uses decoherence protection and "microwave pulses to continually switch the direction of the electron spin rotation."

The research appears to be just an experiment at this time and while it was proven to work in a quantum computing fashion by matching Grover's Algorithm at a rate of about 95 percent, it is not in any proximity of a prototype computing device. Needless to say, there was no information on a commercial feasibility of the idea to build and scale a quantum computing system in diamonds.