In what may best be described as a quantum leap, a group of researchers from the University of Sussex have unveiled what they claim is the first realistic blueprint for the construction of a large scale quantum computer. As detailed in a paper published Wednesday in Science Advances, the quantum computer designed by the Sussex team leverages a new device they've created that allows quantum information to pass from one microchip of the quantum computer, to another using electric fields instead of fiber optic cables. This would allow for connection speeds between the microchips that are up to 100,000 times faster than those currently achievable using fiber optics.
"There have been many studies where people made certain innovations to put us one step closer to a quantum computers," Winfried Hensinger, the head of the Ion Quantum Technology Group at the University of Sussex, told me. "But what we have done is quite a bit different: we've developed a nuts and bolts construction plan to build a large scale quantum computer."

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