Image: Quantinuum
Using hardware created by Quantinuum, Microsoft said its latest research upgrades us to a new level beyond what is known as ‘noisy’ intermediate-scale quantum era.
Microsoft and Quantinuum say they have brought us a step closer to the commercial quantum computer with a new breakthrough that significantly reduces error while running experiments.
In an announcement today (3 April), Microsoft said that it used the UK-based quantum company’s ion-trap hardware with its new qubit virtualisation system to run more than 14,000 experiments “without a single error”.
“We demonstrated more reliable quantum computation by performing error diagnostics and corrections on logical qubits without destroying them,” said Jason Zander, executive vice-president of strategic missions and technologies at Microsoft.
While the silicon-based computers of today use bits to store and manipulate information, quantum computers rely on quantum bits or qubits. The ability to reliably control a qubit is an important achievement for realising functional quantum computers in the future. However, even the smallest changes in environment can cause a quantum system to become unreliable.
Microsoft said that the latest breakthrough finally moves us out of the current era of unreliable quantum computing, known as the noisy intermediate-scale quantum or NISQ, ushering in the next stage of resilient quantum computing.
“This is a crucial milestone on our path to building a hybrid supercomputing system that can transform research and innovation across many industries,” Zander added.
“It is made possible by the collective advancement of quantum hardware, qubit virtualisation and correction and hybrid applications that take advantage of the best of AI, supercomputing and quantum capabilities.”
Quantum for scientific discovery
While quantum theory is now almost 100 years old, the race to build a working quantum computer is a more recent phenomenon with big names such as IBM, Intel and Google all throwing their hats in the ring.
Last June, Intel unveiled a 12-qubit quantum chip called Tunnel Falls that it intends to make available to the academic community through universities and federal research labs to foster innovation in quantum computing.
Microsoft said today that with a hybrid supercomputer powered by 100 reliable logical qubits, organisations would start to see scientific advantage. Meanwhile, scaling closer to 1,000 reliable logical qubits would unlock commercial advantage.
According to Dr Travis Humble, director of the Quantum Science Center in Oak Ridge National Laboratory, breakthroughs in quantum error correction and fault tolerance are important for realising the long-term value of quantum computing for scientific discovery and energy security. “Results like these enable continued development of quantum computing systems for research and development,” he said.
Microsoft has been making steady progress in the race to build a viable quantum supercomputer.
Last June, the software giant achieved a breakthrough in fundamental physics by demonstrating the ability to create and control Majorana quasiparticles, elusive particle that have long attracted attention from Microsoft scientists for its property of being stable – which leads to fewer errors in quantum computing.
At the time, Microsoft said the next step was to work on hardware-protected qubits that will eventually lead to a resilient quantum system, a precursor to a quantum computer.
Last August, researchers at the University of Chicago claimed to have observed the phenomenon known as “quantum superchemistry”, whereby particles in the same quantum state exhibit accelerated chemical reactions.
Earlier that year, researchers in Sweden successfully used a quantum computer to solve simple chemistry problems, as a proof-of-concept for more advanced calculations.
“It’s a pinnacle achievement of the human race,” Prof Séamus Davis, who was awarded the prestigious Buckley Prize in the US last year, told SiliconRepublic.com in an interview about quantum computing. “And although many of us don’t realise it, much of our civilisation depends on our control of quantum mechanics already. It’s critically important.”
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