A week after Microsoft, it’s up to AWS to show off its first quantum processor. AWS claims Ocelot can reduce the cost of quantum error correction by 90 percent.
Quantum computing seems poised for the big breakthrough. Last week Microsoft showed Majorana-1, today it is AWS’ turn to unpack its first quantum chip. Named Ocelot, it should enable much more efficient error correction, one of the biggest obstacles to quantum computing today.
Quantum computers use qubits instead of binary units like traditional computers, which can exist in multiple states simultaneously. This theoretically offers enormous computational capabilities, but also makes the systems extremely sensitive to interference. Even minimal environmental factors such as vibration or electromagnetic radiation can cause errors in calculations.
Error correction
Error correction helps reduce these errors by spreading information across multiple qubits. However, this process is very computationally intensive. Ocelot should make this more efficient thanks to the use of so-called cat qubits. These qubits naturally suppress certain error types, reducing the need for correction. According to AWS, the chip can reduce the number of resources needed for error correction by a factor of 5 to 10. AWS claims it can thus reduce costs by up to 90 percent.
Ocelot consists of two superimposed microchips of 1 cm² each, made with silicon and a thin layer of superconducting material. The chip contains 14 components, including 5 cat-qubits and 4 fault-detecting qubits. A key element in the chip are oscillators, made from a specially processed layer of tantalum, which help keep qubits stable. Like Microsoft, AWS is not fully stepping on the qubit pedal; its focus is on efficiency.
What Microsoft can do, so can AWS
Ocelot is a prototype and represents a first step toward practical quantum computing. AWS built the design from the ground up with error correction as the core principle. This would allow future quantum computers to be developed with fewer resources and in a more efficient manner. Although Ocelot is still in the experimental phase, AWS sees the chip as an important step in the development of usable quantum computers. The company will continue to invest in basic research and the further optimization of its quantum technologies.
Researchers tested Ocelot by measuring how long the chip could hold quantum information and how many errors were corrected. The results showed that the design is scalable without significant performance degradation. The findings on Ocelot were published in the scientific journal Nature.
The announcement comes a week after Microsoft’s big breakthrough with Majorana-1. Both quantum chips show great potential to prepare quantum computers for the real thing, something parties such as Google and IBM have struggled with for years. Has “the ChatGPT moment” for quantum computing been reached? Time will tell.
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