Using commercially available technology and innovative methods, researchers at NBI have pushed the limits of how fast you can detect changes in the sensitive quantum states in the qubit. Their work allows researchers to follow rapid changes in qubit performance that were previously invisible. The study is published in the journal Physical Review X.
The workhorse of any quantum-based application aimed at the coveted, but not yet fully realized quantum computer is the qubit. It is, however, a rather fragile workhorse.
Qubits, and quantum processors in general, are highly sensitive to their environment. Typically, the materials in which they are embedded contain microscopic defects that are still not fully understood. These defects can spatially fluctuate extremely fast, sometimes hundreds of times per second. As they fluctuate, the rate at which a qubit loses energy, and therefore useful quantum information, also changes.
