IBM Reveals 'Loon' Chip, Big Step Towards A Useful Quantum Computer By 2029

IBM is developing a new experimental quantum computing chip called Loon (photo: x @WBuzzer)

JAKARTA The giant technology company IBM announced on Wednesday 12 November that it had developed a new experimental quantum computing chip called 'Loon', marking an important achievement in efforts to realize a truly useful quantum computer before the end of this decade.

Quantum computers are believed to be able to solve problems that would take thousands of years for classic computers to solve them. However, the uncertain basic nature of quantum mechanics makes this type of chip very vulnerable to errors.

Fixing the error is the main focus of many tech giants, including Google and Amazon, who are also competing to develop quantum computers.

In 2021, IBM introduced a new approach to quantum error corrections, by adapting an algorithm originally used to improve cell phone signals, then applying it to systems that combine quantum chips and classical computing chips.

However, this approach has its own challenges. According to Mark Horvath, vice president and analyst at research firm Gartner, IBM's chip design is becoming more difficult because it must contain not only basic elements of quantum chips called qubits, but also new quantum connections between qubits.

"This is a very smart idea," Horvath was quoted as saying by VOI from Reuters. "Now they're really starting to apply it in chips, and it's very interesting."

Jay Gambitta, IBM research director and one of the company's senior scientists, said the key to this success was the utilization of the Albany NanoTech Complex in New York facilities equipped with the world's most advanced chipmaker equipment.

Even so, Loon is still in the early stages of development, and IBM has yet to reveal when outsiders will be able to test it.

In addition, IBM also announced another chip called 'Nighthawk', which is scheduled to be available by the end of this year.

The company believes that Nighthawk will be able to outperform classic computers in some specific tasks by the end of next year, and IBM has teamed up with a number of startups and researchers to unlock its source code so the community can test the claim independently.

We believe there will be many examples of quantum advantages (quantum advantages), said Gambitta. But we want to go further than just headlines. We want to build a community where anyone can send their code, and it is the community that tests and determines which one really does.