A new Ising machine prototype enables quantum-like optimisation without cryogenic cooling.
Researchers have built a prototype computer mimicking some properties of quantum computers. It takes a new approach to solving optimisation problems in telecommunication and training AI models. Tasks such as planning telecom networks, scheduling, or finding the best routes for travel and making the chip energy efficient.
Traditional computers have limits in chip performance and energy use. This makes alternative designs more important.
Unlike quantum computers, which need cooling close to absolute zero, this prototype runs at room temperature. To achieve quantum-like properties in regular computers, the system uses oscillators instead of digital bits with vibrations in a special material.
Oscillators swing back and forth at fixed frequencies, and when faced with a problem, they naturally move into synchrony. That synchrony represents the solution. Because the oscillators all interact at once, the system can explore many possibilities in parallel.
The key material the team uses two-dimensional form of tantalum sulphide, known as a charge-density-wave material, as it can switch between electrical and vibrational phases. This allows it to connect quantum effects with classical physics. The hardware is also compatible with silicon-based CMOS technology, which dominates today’s computing. This means it can be built into conventional systems in the future. The work, by University of LA, California US and UC Riverside is published in Physical Review Applied. The next step will be scaling the device to handle real-world problems at industrial level.