Building a quantum computer is one of the main efforts currently being made in the fields of information technology, nanotechnology and quantum physics. The reason why so many people want to see the device built is its amazing potential computational power, which could see seemingly unbreakable problems being figured out within the course of a lifetime. But constructing a scalable quantum computer proved to be extremely difficult, so, for the future, it may be necessary to combine different approaches of reaching the elusive goal, experts say.

In fact, it may be argued that the most difficult thing for investors and technology companies would be to decide which method of constructing a quantum computer to back up. All of the research groups engaged in constructing quantum computers have their own approach, and they are all in desperate need of funding. The question on everyone's lips right now is, “Who to back up?” And the inquiry is not without merit. Which of the designs would in the end prove its worth over the others is still a mystery. Naturally, investors don't want to miss out on possible gains, but don't want to lose money either, Technology Review reports.

The main difficulty in the field today is encoding, storing and processing quantum bits, or qubits, the basic units of a quantum processor. There are several approaches that have distinguished themselves from others. These approaches include putting and handling qubits on atoms, ions, molecules and even photons. Promising results have been obtained with all of these methods, but they are also equally far away from successful completion. Other approaches include putting qubits in a solid state, in superconducting currents buried deep inside the vibrations of nanostructures.

According to Margareta Wallquist, the leader of a group of experts based at the University of Innsbruck, in Austria, it may be that investors will not be forced to select between one of these approaches in hybrid systems that benefit from the best of both worlds. “With the maturing of the field of experimental quantum information, it seems timely to consider hybrid quantum systems involving atomic and solid state elements with the goal of combining the advantages of the various systems in compatible experimental setups,” the scientists say. “We believe that these ideas are a promising new route in the next generation development of experimental quantum information processing,” Wallquist concludes.