The companies have been able to demonstrate the most reliable logical qubits with active syndrome extraction, an achievement previously believed to be years away from realisation.
The collaboration between Quantinuum's team in the USA and UK and Microsoft's quantum computing team has led to the creation of four logical qubits that demonstrate error rates 800 times lower than corresponding physical error rates. The joint team have also been able to demonstrate the ability to run 14,000 independent instances of a quantum circuit error-free.
This is a significant achievement with the potential to significantly accelerate progress towards the ultimate goal of achieving universal fault tolerant quantum computing.
The achievement stems from the fidelity, scalability, and flexibility of Quantinuum's 32-qubit H2 quantum processor, powered by Honeywell, and combined with Microsoft’s error correction capabilities.
The joint team created four logical qubits using 30 of the 32 physical qubits available on the H2, leading to the creation of what both companies herald as the most "reliable logical qubits". They also successfully demonstrated syndrome extraction, another critical milestone that is necessary for fault tolerant quantum computing.
"The result further cements Quantinuum's position at the forefront of universal fault tolerant quantum computing. This achievement was only possible using Quantinuum’s H2 quantum computer, with its 99.8% two-qubit gate fidelities; the 32 qubits in our QCCD architecture; and all-to-all qubit connectivity. Building on the exceptional performance of our current systems, we will continue to innovate to make universal fault tolerant quantum computing a reality sooner than previously imagined,” said Rajeeb Hazra, CEO, Quantinuum.
With quantum computing capable of dealing with the issues caused by errors, it will be possible to begin tackling meaningful challenges, such as modelling the states of molecules and materials, simulating systems in condensed matter physics, and exploring solutions to problems across many fields.
Based on Microsoft’s exacting criteria, the demonstration of multiple, entangled logical qubits, with the logical qubits outperforming the physical qubits marks a long-anticipated transition into a second phase of quantum computing.
“This is an important breakthrough for quantum computing. 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,” explained Dr. Krysta Svore, Distinguished Engineer and VP of Advanced Quantum Development for Microsoft Azure Quantum.
