Together with Microsoft, Quantinuum, one of the biggest integrated quantum computing companies in the world, has made significant progress toward the realization of fault-tolerant quantum computing by demonstrating highly reliable logical qubits with active syndrome extraction. This accomplishment was previously thought to be years away.
Four logical qubits with error rates 800 times lower than comparable physical error rates have been created via a cooperation between Microsoft’s quantum computing team and Quantinuum’s team in the UK and USA. The combined team showed off their impressive capacity to operate 14,000 separate quantum circuit instances error-free. Such breakthroughs could expedite the pursuit of universal fault-tolerant quantum computing, thereby reducing the time required to address practical issues and transform industries such as materials science and drug development.
The accomplishment is the result of combining Microsoft’s innovative error correcting skills with Quantinuum’s 32-qubit H2 quantum processor - powered by Honeywell - which would offer industry-leading fidelity, scalability, and flexibility. Together, the team used 30 of the 32 physical qubits on the H2 to construct four logical qubits, resulting in what both businesses claim to be the most reliable logical qubits. They also accomplished the crucial milestone of successfully demonstrating syndrome extraction, which is required for fault-tolerant quantum computing.
“Quantinuum's leadership in universal fault-tolerant quantum computing is further cemented by the outcome revealed today,” said Quantinuum CEO Rajeeb Hazra. “The 32 qubits in our QCCD design, the unmatched 99.8% two-qubit gate faithfulties of Quantinuum's H2 quantum computer, and all-to-all qubit connection were the sole factors that made today's accomplishment feasible. We will keep innovating to make universal fault-tolerant quantum computing a reality sooner than previously thought, building on the remarkable performance of our present systems.”
‘Breakthrough for Quantum Computing’
Dr. Krysta SvoreIn the new era that Microsoft has dubbed ‘Level 2 Resilient,’ quantum computing can handle errors and start tackling more significant issues like modeling the states of materials and molecules, simulating condensed matter physics systems, and investigating solutions to problems in a variety of fields. The demonstration of numerous, entangled logical qubits that surpass physical qubits, according to Microsoft's strict requirements, would signify a long-awaited move into this second phase of quantum computing.
“This is an important breakthrough for quantum computing,” said Dr. Krysta Svore - Distinguished Engineer and VP of Advanced Quantum Development for Microsoft Azure Quantum. “The collaboration between Quantinuum and Microsoft has established a crucial step forward for the industry and demonstrated a critical milestone on the path to hybrid classical-quantum supercomputing capable of transforming scientific discovery.”
“As leaders, we will continue to innovate more rapidly than the competition, with hardware innovations and developing applications to take advantage of the new era of truly logical qubits,” said Ilyas Khan, Vice-Chairman and Chief Product Officer, Quantinuum. “We will continue to ensure that our customers are the first to benefit from these and future breakthroughs. I am excited to see how they take advantage of reliable quantum computing, to generate more powerful solutions than ever to their most challenging problems.”
