Feb 20, 2025 13:46:00

Microsoft unveils quantum processor 'Majorana 1,' hoping to 'solve important industrial-scale problems within a few years'

On February 19, 2025, Microsoft announced its first quantum processor, Majorana 1. This processor will enable the reliable generation of quantum bits, the building blocks of quantum computers.

Microsoft's Majorana 1 chip carves new path for quantum computing - Source

https://news.microsoft.com/source/features/ai/microsofts-majorana-1-chip-carves-new-path-for-quantum-computing/

Microsoft claims quantum-computing breakthrough — but some physicists are sceptical
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00527-z

Introducing Majorana 1 - YouTube


Microsoft describes Majorana 1 as 'a revolutionary architecture called the topological core that can observe and control Majorana particles , generating quantum bits in a highly reliable and scalable manner.'

Majorana 1 packs eight quantum bits into a body that's slightly larger than a desktop PC CPU, and according to Microsoft, it can eventually be expanded to one million quantum bits.

To handle commercially important applications, trillions of operations on a million qubits would be required, but existing approaches have been deemed infeasible because they require individual analog control of each qubit. Microsoft has now adopted a method to digitally control error-tolerant topological qubits.

A quantum computer is a computer that processes information at a much faster speed than existing computers by using quantum bits that can express 'quantum mechanical superposition states of 0 and 1' in addition to 0 and 1, rather than conventional bits that take a single value of 0 or 1. However, quantum bits have the disadvantage that they are vulnerable to changes in the environment during operation. In addition, 'measurement' is essential for calculations, but there is also the problem that measurement changes the state of the quantum bit.

So Microsoft turned its attention to topological quantum computers. This method is expected to improve processing speed, size, and controllability by creating more stable quantum bits than usual and reducing the need for error correction. However, the 'Majorana particles' required for this topological quantum computer do not exist in nature and had to be artificially created using magnetic fields and superconductors.

Fermions such as electrons and protons usually have 'antiparticles,' but Majorana particles are particles with the mysterious property that they are identical to their antiparticles. Their theoretical existence was pointed out and their existence was demonstrated in 2018.

Microsoft has developed a new ' topological superconductor ' designed and manufactured by atom using indium arsenide and aluminum. This makes it possible to control quantum bits using Majorana particles more simply and digitally, making it easier to scale up. In addition, Microsoft has reported that it has not only succeeded in generating Majorana particles, but also demonstrated that it is possible to reliably measure the quantum information of Majorana particles using microwaves.

Microsoft said, 'We need a quantum architecture that can achieve more than one million qubits and a system that can perform trillions of fast and reliable calculations, but this announcement shows that this future is possible within a few years, not decades. ' If such a large-scale quantum computer is realized, it may be possible to solve problems that cannot be calculated with existing classical computers in fields such as chemistry, materials science, manufacturing, and medicine.