Google Plans to Demonstrate the Supremacy of Quantum Computing

Google researchers say they plan to boost the volume of superconducting qubits built on integrated circuits (ICs) to create a 7x7 array and push operations to the limits of even the best supercomputers, demonstrating "quantum supremacy" by year's end.

The team says it will perform operations on a 49-qubit system that will trigger chaotic evolution yielding what appears to be random output, which classical computers can model for smaller systems.

University of California, Santa Barbara professor John Martinis says the qubits constituting the array also could be employed to build larger "universal" quantum systems with error correction, capable of performing useful tasks such as decryption.

Martinis says the challenge of scaling up the quantum IC involves maintaining qubits' function without losing fidelity or boosting error rates. "Error rate and scaling tend to kind of compete against each other," he notes.

The team also sees the possibility of scaling up systems beyond 50 qubits without error correction.

From IEEE Spectrum
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