On September 10th local time, Microsoft and quantum computing leader Quantinuum announced a major breakthrough, successfully entangling the largest number of 12 logical qubits in history and creating the highest computational fidelity ever, showcasing their quantum error correction technology.
Logical qubits, quantum error correction, and computational fidelity are all important concepts in the field of quantum computing. It can be said that quantum error correction is the key to unlocking the large-scale commercialization of quantum computing.
Quantum computing is a technology that utilizes the principles of quantum mechanics for information processing. Compared with traditional classical computing, the main advantages of quantum computing are:
(1) Powerful computing power: Compared to traditional computers that can only handle two states, "0" and "1", qubits can be in a superposition state of "0" and "1" simultaneously, which theoretically allows them to complete large-scale computing tasks at extremely fast speeds. As the number of quantum bits increases, the computing power of quantum computers grows exponentially. This means that quantum computers are much faster than traditional computers when dealing with certain types of problems, such as search and optimization problems;
(2) More extensive application space: Quantum computers are naturally suitable for simulating other quantum systems, which is of great significance for research in fields such as chemistry, materials science, and physics. It can simulate molecules and chemical reactions, predict the properties of new materials, which is very difficult for traditional computers. In addition, quantum computers can theoretically accelerate the training process of machine learning algorithms, which is very useful for processing big data and complex models, and can promote the development of machine learning and artificial intelligence;
(3) Encryption and Security: Quantum computers can theoretically crack many existing encryption algorithms, but at the same time, new quantum encryption technologies can also be developed to provide more advanced communication security.
Quantum computing has enormous potential, however, it is still in the early stages of development and faces many technical and physical challenges. One important obstacle is that a single physical quantum bit is very fragile and susceptible to external interference, and the fidelity of quantum gate operations needs to be very high. Any imperfection can lead to computational errors, and quantum error correction technology is crucial.
Logical quantum bits: quantum error correction technique for "1+1>2"
Scientists have improved the stability and error tolerance of quantum information by introducing logical qubits to overcome the aforementioned shortcomings of physical qubits.
Logical qubits are typically encoded by multiple physical qubits using specific quantum error correction codes. The collection of these physical qubits can protect logical qubits from local errors. If an error occurs in one of the physical qubits, it can be detected and corrected through a quantum error correction process without affecting the overall state of the logical qubits.
Simply put, logical quantum is a group of quantum bits composed of multiple physical quantum bits, in which the physical quantum bits can correct errors with each other, ensuring the stability of the entire logical quantum bit and achieving a "1+1>2" stability correction effect. In this way, even if one of the physical qubits is incorrect, the other physical qubits can still provide sufficient information to ensure the accuracy of the calculation results.
The breakthrough of Microsoft and Quantianum lies in their ability to refresh the number of logical qubits and establish a more reliable quantum computing "team". Their quantum error correction technology has reduced the error rate of logical qubits by 800 times compared to individual physical qubits. This achievement is a crucial step towards reliable and practical quantum computing.
How did Microsoft achieve this?
The new breakthrough cannot be achieved without two key elements: the H2 ion trap quantum computer as hardware, and the Azure Quantum qubit virtualization platform as software.
The H2 ion trap quantum computer is a high-performance quantum computing system developed by Quantinuum. This quantum computer uses Microsoft's Tesseract code (a fault tolerance mechanism for quantum computing), which protects quantum information by using a special quantum error correction code (Tesseract code is essentially a four-dimensional hypercube structure that protects logical quantum by arranging 16 physical quantum bits into a four-dimensional space hypercube). This code greatly improves error correction performance by sacrificing some efficiency, and can effectively detect and correct errors in quantum bits,
Azure Quantum qubit virtualization platform is a quantum cloud computing service provided by Microsoft, aimed at enhancing hardware stability and accuracy at the software level. It can dynamically manage the collaboration between multiple physical qubits, ensure the stability of logical qubits, and effectively coordinate the operation of physical qubits to reduce the probability of errors.
Quantum computing, AI, HPC collaborate for the first time to solve scientific problems
It is worth noting that Microsoft and Quantianum's breakthrough is not limited to theory, but also considers the application side, demonstrating the ability of quantum computing to solve practical problems.
Researchers combined high reliability logic qubits, cloud computing, and AI technology to conduct complex chemical simulations and successfully predicted the ground state energy of a chemical catalyst. This kind of simulation is almost impossible to achieve for traditional computers because it requires handling extremely complex computational tasks.
According to Microsoft, this is the first time that HPC, AI, and quantum computing hardware have been combined to solve scientific problems.
It can be foreseen that quantum computing will greatly shorten the time required for scientific discoveries, new products, and even the birth of new species.
At present, Microsoft is actively promoting the commercialization of quantum computing and providing quantum computing services to the outside world through the Azure Quantum platform. Users can obtain solutions from quantum computing companies such as Quantinuum, IonQ, PASQAL, Rigetti, etc. through this platform.
The domestic quantum computing industry is expected to continue expanding
IBM, Microsoft, Google and other overseas technology giants are deeply involved in quantum computing and have successively released roadmaps. At the same time, the domestic quantum computing industry has continuously made breakthroughs in recent years.
Dilution refrigeration machines play a crucial role in the operation of superconducting quantum computers. The SL400 domestically produced dilution refrigeration machine is the first major breakthrough made by Chinese technology innovation enterprises in the ultra-low temperature refrigeration technology of quantum computing, and its performance indicators have reached the advanced level of similar international products;
On April 25, the Institute of Quantum Information and Quantum Technology Innovation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences delivered a 504 bit superconducting quantum computing chip "Xiaohong" to Guodun Quantum. This chip is the first super 500 bit superconducting quantum computing chip in China, breaking the record of the number of superconducting quantum bits in China. Its performance is comparable to that of international mainstream chips, and it can efficiently carry users in all fields to carry out research on problems and algorithms with practical value;
The third-generation autonomous superconducting quantum computer "Benyuan Wukong" developed by the Benyuan Quantum R&D team was officially launched and put into operation on January 6th this year, open to users worldwide to receive global quantum computing tasks. This quantum computer is equipped with the 72 bit autonomous superconducting quantum chip "Wukong Chip", which is currently the most advanced programmable and deliverable superconducting quantum computer in China;
In the field of biomedicine, China's quantum computing technology has also made significant breakthroughs. Recently, Bengbu Medical University and Benyuan Quantum Computing Technology (Hefei) Co., Ltd. reached a strategic cooperation to jointly develop the first domestic quantum molecule docking application. With the support of China's third-generation independent superconducting quantum computer, they will use quantum computing power to accelerate the development process of small molecule drugs and improve drug design efficiency.
In addition, there have been frequent policies related to quantum computing in China. In March of this year, quantum computing was included in the government work report for the first time. Later, on July 5, Jin Zhuanglong, Minister of Industry and Information Technology, further said that the future industry should be planned in a moderate way in advance, focusing on humanoid robots, brain computer interfaces, metauniverse, the next generation Internet, 6G, quantum technology, atomic manufacturing, deep-sea aerospace development and other fields.
In the future, with the continuous evolution of policies and industries, the domestic quantum computing industry is expected to continue to expand.