[Homemade Quantum Computer NMRQCP] I have officially started a project to "build a quantum computer myself"!

*Original Japanese version is available here.

 Hello!

In the previous article, I explained "What is a quantum computer?", but this time I'd like to talk about a major project I started on my own around April.
As the title suggests, I have officially started a project to "build a quantum computer myself"!
You might be thinking, "Doesn't a quantum computer need a giant freezer to cool it down to minus 273 degrees Celsius?" However, the method I am challenging myself with this time uses a mechanism called EFNMR (Earth's Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance).

Using the Earth itself as a giant magnet!?

Like an MRI in a hospital, a typical NMR uses ultra-powerful superconducting magnets. However, the Earth we live on is actually "one giant magnet" with a North Pole and a South Pole.
Using this natural magnetic field of the Earth to control nuclear spins (qubits) is called "Earth's Field NMR (EFNMR)". Since it doesn't require a massive cooling system, individuals can observe and manipulate quantum mechanical phenomena right on their desks by building circuits and coils themselves.

What exactly am I building?

I am building everything from hardware to software completely from scratch.

• Polarization/Receiver Coil: A handmade coil made by wrapping enamel wire many times around a transparent PVC pipe that holds samples like water.
  
• Signal Processing Circuit: A custom-designed operational amplifier circuit inside an aluminum shield case to pick up extremely weak signals at the nanovolt to microvolt level.
  
• FPGA: A dedicated digital circuit for controlling pulse signals at high speed and with high precision.
  
• Python: Used for analyzing the acquired signals (FID signals), noise removal, and Fast Fourier Transform (FFT).
  
• Power Supply & Control Unit: A lead-acid battery + MOSFET circuit to reduce noise to the absolute limit, along with measurement and monitoring using an M5Stack.
  

Future plans and updates

To be honest, every day is a process of trial and error, filled with hurdles like noise countermeasures and analog waveform distortion.
However, instead of just waiting until it's finished, I plan to continuously share the "real process of experiments, including the failures"!

• Daily experiment notes and code: Available on my GitHub repository (nmr-qc-project)
  
• Real-time development scenes and oscilloscope waveforms: Posting on X (formerly Twitter)
  

If you are wondering things like "Will it really work?" or "How do you generate waveforms?", please bookmark this blog and follow me on X!
Next time, I plan to write about the first major hurdle: "Coil production and waveform generation circuit troubles". Stay tuned!