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'Fluxonium’ is the longest lasting superconducting qubit ever

A fluxonium qubit can keep its most useful quantum properties for about 1.48 milliseconds, drastically longer than similar qubits currently favoured by the quantum computing industry

By Karmela Padavic-Callaghan

25 May 2023

Fluxonium qubits could make quantum computers more useful

Bartlomiej K. Wroblewski/Alamy

A superconducting qubit, or quantum bit, has broken the record for how long it can maintain its quantum properties. Extending this time will make future quantum computers more useful.

The first step in building a quantum computer is choosing how to make its key ingredients, called qubits. One popular choice, championed by research labs and industry players such as IBM and Google, is the transmon superconducting qubit. But like all qubits, these can become ineffective at storing and processing information after a …

Article amended on 25 May 2023

We clarified that fluxonium is the longest lasting of the superconducting qubits

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