Each dot in this image is a working quantum bit.
Physicists at Caltech have just unveiled the world’s largest working array of quantum bits (qubits)—an astonishing grid of 6,100 individual cesium atoms, each precisely trapped using beams of laser light.
These atoms, suspended in a vacuum by “optical tweezers,” serve as qubits, the basic building blocks of quantum computers. Unlike classical bits that are either 0 or 1, qubits can exist in both states at once, thanks to a property called superposition.
This quantum weirdness gives such machines immense power—but also makes them delicate and error-prone. Caltech’s breakthrough pushes the boundaries by maintaining coherence for up to 13 seconds—ten times longer than previous systems—and achieving control accuracy above 99.98%.
What sets this system apart isn’t just its size, but its flexibility and stability at scale. The researchers showed that they could move atoms across the grid while preserving their quantum state, a major step toward creating fault-tolerant quantum computers. With previous atom-based arrays only holding hundreds of qubits, this leap to thousands—without losing quality—marks a critical milestone. The next phase is to entangle these qubits so they act in concert, enabling powerful quantum calculations. From simulating exotic materials to probing the nature of space-time, this platform could lay the foundation for the next era of computing.
Source: Caltech. (2025). Caltech Team Sets Record with 6,100-Qubit Array.