En route to a quantum computer

The Volkswagen Foundation is financing a materials science project being conducted jointly by the universities in Mainz and Osnabrück in collaboration with the Jülich Research Center. The support is to be provided over a period of three years and will total €550,000. The project managers, Professor Dr. Angelika Kühnle and Dr. Wolfgang Harneit of the Institute of Physical Chemistry at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), were notified of the grant in March 2012. This project is a continuation of a recently completed earlier project that was also financed by the Volkswagen Foundation. The overall objective of the projects is to demonstrate the technical feasibility of a quantum computer on the basis of electron spins. Quantum computers are theoretically capable of far more efficient calculations than those of today's silicon-based computers. However, the necessary materials that would make quantum computers suitable for everyday use have yet to be invented.