What if a new state of matter could unlock the power of quantum computing? Microsoft’s Majorana 1 chip might be the breakthrough that changes everything. On February 19, 2025, Microsoft unveiled its latest project that has been in the making for over 18 months.
The Roadmap: Milestone 1
Starting with Microsoft’s roadmap to a quantum computer on June 21st of 2023, Microsoft announced they had completed the first step in that roadmap, the creation of noisy physical qubits was accomplished. A qubit or quantum bit is the basic unit of information in a quantum computer. Regular computer bits are the smallest unit of information in a regular computer with values of either 0 or 1, many people can recall this as what binary is used for, it is what allows code to be sent into electrical signals to get a desired result. A qubit is used in a similar way, but its importance comes in because a qubit can be both 0 and 1 at the same time, due to a property called superposition. Superposition is the placement of one thing above or atop another, which allows them to coexist as part of the same event.
The Roadmap: Milestone 2
Once that first milestone was completed, Microsoft started working on the second, reliable, logical qubits. Microsoft knew that they had to invent something in order to make their new processors as their older models were unstable for large-scale use. This is where the Majorana 1 chip comes into play.
A New State of Matter
Microsoft’s breakthrough in creating a new chip required a completely new way to build quantum computers. To do this they turned to topological qubits, which are much more stable than traditional qubits. These qubits rely on a new conductor labeled a Topoconductor, created by Microsoft, that is a mix between a Semiconductor (“A material where electricity flows with zero resistance”) and a Superconductor (“A material that allows precise control of electron density”) (Microsoft). This Topoconductor is a new protected form of matter called a topological superconductor, and hosts Majorana zero modes which are exotic particles.
What is a Majorana Zero Mode?
Created when the Topoconductor is cooled to almost absolute zero and tuned with magnetic fields, MZMs form at the wires ends. MZMs are a unique quasiparticle that behave as their own antiparticles. This means they can store quantum information in a way that is naturally resistant to errors. Unlike regular qubits which are highly sensitive to disturbances, topological qubits have built in protection. This is the potential solution for one of the biggest roadblocks in quantum computing-error correction. The #1 problem with quantum computing is how sensitive it is, Microsoft’s new chip fixes this problem. Think of a Jenga tower, normally it’s wobbly and easy to knock over. The new chip by Microsoft acts like a glue between the bricks, it stabilizes the tower to allow it to function properly.
Scale
Microsoft made their product with scale in mind. This means that the chip is able to be reproduced at a large rate without overcompensating for size or losing stability, speed, or controllability. Microsoft allowed for this chip to be built with more than one million qubits in one chip, with less than one microsecond per operation.
Overall Microsoft has created something new that can lead to the biggest jump in technology since the first computer.