The world may undergo a transformation thanks to quantum computing. It promises to be considerably faster for certain and important activities than the zero-or-one binary technology that powers today’s equipment, from supercomputers in research labs to smartphones in our pockets. However, creating a reliable network of qubits, or quantum bits, to store information, access it, and carry out computations, is essential for creating quantum computers.
Yet the qubit platforms unveiled to date have a common problem: They tend to be delicate and vulnerable to outside disturbances. Even a stray photon can cause trouble. The ultimate answer to this problem might be to create fault-tolerant qubits that are unaffected by outside disturbances.
A team from the University of Washington led by scientists and engineers has disclosed a substantial development in this endeavor. They report that they were able to identify “fractional quantum anomalous Hall” (FQAH) states in experiments with semiconductor material flakes that were each only one layer of atoms thick in two papers that were published on June 14 in Nature and June 22 (2023) in Science.
The team’s discoveries mark a first and promising step in constructing a type of fault-tolerant qubit because FQAH states can host anyons strange “quasiparticles” that have only a fraction of an electron’s charge. Some types of anyons can be used to make what are called “topologically protected” qubits, which are stable against any small, local disturbances.
“This really establishes a new paradigm for studying quantum physics with fractional excitations in the future,” said Xiaodong Xu, the lead researcher behind these discoveries, who is also the Boeing Distinguished Professor of Physics and a professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the UW.
The fractional quantum Hall state (FQAH state) is a rare phase of matter that exists in two-dimensional systems. Electrical conductivity is limited in these states to precise fractions of the conductance quantum, a constant.
Our work provides clear evidence of the long-sought FQAH states. We are currently working on electrical transport measurements, which could provide direct and unambiguous evidence of fractional excitations at zero magnetic field.
Xiaodong Xu
Fractional quantum Hall systems, however, frequently require strong magnetic fields to maintain their stability, rendering them unsuitable for use in quantum computing. The FQAH state has no such requirement it is stable even “at zero magnetic field,” according to the team.
The researchers had to create an artificial lattice with exotic properties in order to host such an exotic phase of matter. They stacked two atomically thin flakes of the semiconductor material molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe2) at small, mutual “twist” angles relative to one another. This configuration formed a synthetic “honeycomb lattice” for electrons.
The arrangement developed an inherent magnetic when scientists cooled the stacked slices to a few degrees above absolute zero. The strong magnetic field generally needed for the fractional quantum Hall state is replaced by intrinsic magnetism. Using lasers as probes, the researchers detected signatures of the FQAH effect, a major step forward in unlocking the power of anyons for quantum computing.
The team, which also includes scientists at the University of Hong Kong, the National Institute for Materials Science in Japan, Boston College, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, envisions their system as a powerful platform to develop a deeper understanding of anyons, which have very different properties from everyday particles like electrons. Anyons are quasiparticles or particle-like “excitations” that can act as fractions of an electron.
In future work with their experimental system, the researchers hope to discover an even more exotic version of this type of quasiparticle: “non-Abelian” anyons, which could be used as topological qubits. Wrapping or “braiding” the non-Abelian anyons around each other can generate an entangled quantum state.
The fundamental building block of topological qubits, which represent a significant improvement over the capabilities of existing quantum computers, is the quantum state in which information is essentially “spread out” over the entire system and resilient to local disruptions.
“This type of topological qubit would be fundamentally different from those that can be created now,” said UW physics doctoral student Eric Anderson, who is lead author of the Science paper and co-lead author of the Nature paper. “The strange behavior of non-Abelian anyons would make them much more robust as a quantum computing platform.”
Three key properties, all of which existed simultaneously in the researchers’ experimental setup, allowed FQAH states to emerge:
- Magnetism: Though MoTe2 is not a magnetic material, when they loaded the system with positive charges, a “spontaneous spin order” a form of magnetism called ferromagnetism emerged.
- Topology: Electrical charges within their system have “twisted bands,” similar to a Möbius strip, which helps make the system topological.
- Interactions: The charges within their experimental system interact strongly enough to stabilize the FQAH state.
The team hopes that using their approach, non-Abelian anyons await for discovery.
“The observed signatures of the fractional quantum anomalous Hall effect are inspiring,” said UW physics doctoral student Jiaqi Cai, co-lead author on the Nature paper and co-author of the Science paper. “The fruitful quantum states in the system can be a laboratory-on-a-chip for discovering new physics in two dimensions, and also new devices for quantum applications.”
“Our work provides clear evidence of the long-sought FQAH states,” said Xu, who is also a member of the Molecular Engineering and Sciences Institute, the Institute for Nano-Engineered Systems, and the Clean Energy Institute, all at UW. “We are currently working on electrical transport measurements, which could provide direct and unambiguous evidence of fractional excitations at zero magnetic field.”
The group thinks that by using their method, exploring and controlling these peculiar FQAH states might become routine, advancing the development of quantum computing.
Additional co-authors on the papers are William Holtzmann and Yinong Zhang in the UW Department of Physics; Di Xiao, Chong Wang, Xiaowei Zhang, Xiaoyu Liu and Ting Cao in the UW Department of Materials Science & Engineering; Feng-Ren Fan and Wang Yao at the University of Hong Kong and the Joint Institute of Theoretical and Computational Physics at Hong Kong; Takashi Taniguchi and Kenji Watanabe from the National Institute of Materials Science in Japan; Ying Ran of Boston College; and Liang Fu at MIT.
The research was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the National Science Foundation, the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong, the Croucher Foundation, the Tencent Foundation, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and the University of Washington.
