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IBMSolvesQuantumComputing
R.ColinJohnson
4/29/201505:00AMEDT
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PORTLAND,Ore.Quantumcomputersarebeingpursuedbyallthemajorresearchlabs
worldwide,includingevennewcomerslikeGoogle.However,IBMclaimsits30yearsof
experienceinquantumcomputingresearchshowsGoogleisallwronginits"linear"design,
becauseIBM's"squaretiled"designcansolvebothofthemostimportantproblemsin
quantumcomputingpluscanscaletoanysizeneededinthefuture.
IBM'ssearchfortherightarchitectureforquantumcomputersbeganin1981whenit
attendedNobelPrizewinnerRichardFeynman'sfirstworkshoponthe"physicsof
information"wherehelaidouttheconceptofaquantumcomputer.
Overthesubsequent34yearsIBMhasdevelopedFeynman'stheory,inventeditsown
architectureandconductedexperimentsthattodayhaveledtothedevicesthatcanreliably
scaletoanynumberofqubitsextendingMoore'slawindefinitelysinceitwouldontake
only50qubitstooutperformthefastestsupercomputerontheTop500.orgsupercomputer
list.
"Wearereportingonafourqubitsystemtoday,andalreadyexperimentingwithaneight
qubitsystem,"JerryChow,managerofexperimentalquantumcomputinggroupatIBM
ResearchCenter(YorktownHeights,N.Y.)toldEETimes."Butunlikeotherdesigns,the
seriesofproblemswehavejustsolvedcanscaletoasuperconductingquantumcomputer
withanynumberofqubits."
Thecurrentprototype(seephotos)issupercooledto15milliKelvin,usingacommercially
availablesuperrefrigerator,andhassolvedthetwomostimportantproblemsinquantum
computingtoday,accordingtoIBM,thatissimultaneouslycorrectingforbitflipand
phasefliperrorsaswellasbeingcompletelyscalabletoanysize.

IBM'sfoursuperconductingquantumbitsuseasquarelatticetodetectbothtypesofquantumerrorsbit
errorsandphaseerrorsforthefirsttime.
(Credit:IBMResearch)

"Onthemarchtowardquantumcomputerserrorcorrectionisthemostimportantproblem,
becausequbitsarenotasrobustasnormalcomputerbits,"Chowtoldus."Qubitsarevery
fragileandcanbespoiledbyallsortsofnoiseintheenvironmentandintherestofthe
system."
Therearetwomaintypesoferrorsthatmustbecorrectedinquantumcomputersbit
errors(flippinga1toa0ora0toa1)andphasefliperrors(whichcausesignalsto
subtractfromeachotherinsteadofadd).Unfortunately,itisverydifficulttosolveboth
theseerrorsatonce.Todoso,IBMhadtogotoasquarearchitectureinsteadofalinear
arrayarchitecturelikeGoogle's,whichaccordingtoIBMcanonlysolveoneoftheproblems
ortheotherbutnotboth.Asaresult,IBM'ssquarearrayoffourqubitsisquadruple
redundant,butitmakesanerrorfreescalablequantumcomputerpossible.

IBM'ssquarelayoutisthebestconfigurationtoaddmorequbitsandscaletolargersystems.
(Credit:IBMResearch)

"Youneednearlyperfectqubitstodomeaningfulcalculationswithaquantumcomputer,so
youhavetodedicatesomequbitstoerrorcorrection,"Chowtoldus."Infact,weare
workingonaneightqubitarchitecturenowtocorrectotherpossibilitiesoferrorinasingle
qubitandbelievethatitmaytake13to17qubitsormaybeevenmoretomakeasingle
qubitperfectlyreliable."
Thereasonisthatqubitsdonotjustholdasingle0or1likeregularbits,butholda
superpositionofvalues,"theyarepart0andpart1,whichiswhyitissohardtoperfectly
preservethenduringquantumcalculations,"Chowtoldus.
Inthecurrentfourqubitarchitecture,twoqubitsholdthevaluetobepreserved,whilethe
othertwoqubitstellyouwhethertherehavebeenanybitfliporphasefliperrors,
respectively.

IBM'sJerryChowinspectingaqubitinthequantumcomputinglabatIBM'sT.J.WatsonResearchCenter.
(Credit:JonSimon/FeaturePhotoServiceforIBM)

NextIBMisshootingfortheHolyGrailofquantumcomputingtheperfectincorruptible
qubitthatcouldformthebasisofarealquantumcomputerscalabletoanysize.To
achievethatgoal,IBMplanstoextendthecurrentarchitecturebyaddingmorequbitsin
an8bitsurfacecodelatticefornowthatwillofferevenbetterprotectionandcorrectionof
quantumerrorsontheroadtotheperfectiontheyneedtostartmarketingrealquantum
computers.
"Itmaytake8,13,17oreven49qubitsinascalablelatticetorealizetheHolyGrailof
perfection,andthearchitecturemayhavetochangetorectangularorhexagonalorsome
othersymmetricalconfiguration,butwenowbelieveitisdefinitelyanachievablegoal."

IBM'squantumcomputingarchitectureusesscalablebuildingblocks,detectsandcorrectsquantumerrors,
andwillbeablesolveproblemsconventionalcomputerscannot.
(Source:IBM)

Onceaquantumcomputerisperfecteditwillnotonlybeabletocrackanyencryptioncode
todayandmakenewuncrackablecodes,butwillalsoallowresearcherstounderstand
physicalprocessesthatareimpossibletosimulateoftraditionalcomputersForinstanceall
themolecularinteractionsthatmakecommonprocessesworkallowingdesignersto
creatematerialsimpossibletoimaginetoday,deriveinsightsfromunstructuredBigDatain
aninstant,andtrulyunderstandusefulchemicalreactionsthattodaywereonlyfoundby
trialanderror.
"Quantumcomputerswillspawnaneweraofinnovationacrossallindustries,"Chow
concluded.
IBM'sworkwaspartiallyfundedtheU.S.IARPA(IntelligenceAdvancedResearchProjects
Activity)multiqubitcoherentoperationsprogram.
R.ColinJohnson,AdvancedTechnologyEditor,EETimes
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