Researchers from the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Yokohama National University, Tohoku University, and NEC Corporation have successfully demonstrated a superconducting circuit that can control multiple qubits in a quantum computer via a single cable. This development could increase the density of qubit-controlling-signals per cable by approximately 1,000 times, significantly increasing the number of controllable qubits and accelerating the development of large-scale quantum computers. The results will be published in “npj Quantum Information”.
Advancements in Qubit Control for Quantum Computing
Quantum computing, a field that promises to revolutionize the way we process information, relies heavily on the control of quantum bits, or qubits. The ability to control a large number of qubits is a critical factor in the development of practical quantum computers. However, conventional methods of qubit control have been limited by the size of transmission paths for qubit-controlling-signals, restricting the number of controllable qubits to approximately 1,000.
A collaborative research team from the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Yokohama National University, Tohoku University, and NEC Corporation in Japan has proposed and demonstrated a superconducting circuit that can control multiple qubits via a single cable. This development could potentially increase the density of qubit-controlling-signals per cable by approximately 1,000 times, significantly expanding the number of controllable qubits and accelerating the development of large-scale quantum computers.
The Limitations of Conventional Qubit Control
In conventional quantum computers, microwave signals are generated at room temperature to control qubits operating at low temperatures. These signals are individually transmitted to qubits via different cables, resulting in a large number of cables between room and low temperature. This method limits the number of controllable qubits to approximately 1,000, posing a significant challenge to the development of practical quantum computers.
A New Approach to Qubit Control
The research team proposed a superconducting circuit that can control multiple qubits via a single cable using microwave multiplexing. This circuit was successfully demonstrated in proof-of-concept experiments at 4.2 K in liquid helium. The new approach has the potential to increase the density of microwave signals per cable by approximately 1,000 times, thereby significantly increasing the number of controllable qubits.
Implications for Large-Scale Quantum Computing
The successful demonstration of this superconducting circuit could have significant implications for the development of large-scale quantum computers. By increasing the number of controllable qubits, this technology could accelerate the development of practical quantum computers, which require the control of a large number of qubits (as many as one million) operating at low temperatures.
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