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Physics World

First commercial ion-based quantum computer built

Philip Ball

Published Feb 1, 2019• 3 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The first commercial quantum computer using trapped ions for quantum bits (qubits) has been launched by IonQ, a spin-out company from the University of Maryland in the US.
DOI
10.1088/2058-7058/32/2/6

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In this paper we describe one of the most promising platforms for the construction of a universal quantum computer, which consists of a chain of NNN ions trapped in a harmonic potential, whose internal states work out as qubits, and are coupled to collective vibrational modes of the chain. From such coupling, it is possible to build interactions between different ions of the chain, that is, qubit-qubit interactions that, together with individual operations on the ions, allow building a quantum computer as first proposed by Cirac and Zoller in the 1990s [Phys. Rev. Lett. 74, 4091 (1995)]. Here we discuss from the physics involved in trapping ions in electromagnetic potentials to the Hamiltonian engineering needed to generate a universal set of logic gates, fundamental for the execution of more complex quantum algorithms. Finally, we present the current state of the art of quantum computing in trapped ion systems, highlighting recent advances made by companies and government projects that use such architecture, such as IonQ and AQTION.
Summary form only given. Last year saw the first quantum computers realized that can be programmed from a high level user interface to run arbitrary quantum algorithms [1, 2]. While these devices are still small in scale, only comprising a handful of qubits each, they nevertheless allow the implementation of quantum circuits in a way that is basically blind to the underlying hardware itself. This constitutes a new level of development in quantum computer technology for the two leading approaches, trapped atomic ions [1] and superconducting circuits [3]. It also gives us the opportunity to test quantum computers irrespective of their particular physical implementation for the first time. With multiple companies (IBM, Google, Microsoft, as well as several start-ups) aiming for a larger scale device of commercial viability in the near future, benchmarking quantum computers becomes a crucial pursuit and this work is a step in that direction. Our device consists of five171Yb+atomic ions trapped in a Paul trap [1]. Each provides a pristine “atomic clock” qubit in its atomic structure that can be manipulated with laser light and read out via state-dependent fluorescence. Two-qubit gates between any pair are implemented via laser-mediated interaction of qubits through the normal modes of motion in the trap [4] making it a fully connected system.
By encoding information in the quantum states of individual atoms, quantum computers have the potential to make the latest Intel Pentium chip look as outmoded as the abacus. But before such a quantum device can even begin to compete with its classical counterpart, we first need to find a way to scale up individual quantum bits, or qubits. Physicists in the US have now made an important step towards this goal by creating an ion trap on a semiconductor chip. Such micrometre-scale traps could allow many qubits to be integrated in a workable quantum computer ( Nature Physics at press).
The development of quantum computing systems has been a staple of academic research since the mid-1990s when the first proposal for physical platforms were proposed using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Ion-Trap hardware. These first proposals were very basic, essentially consisting of identifying a physical qubit (two-level quantum system) that could be isolated and controlled to achieve universal quantum computation. Over the past thirty years, the nature of quantum architecture design has changed significantly and the scale of investment, groups and companies involved in building quantum computers has increased exponentially. Architectural design for quantum computers examines systems at scale: fully error-corrected machines, potentially consisting of millions if not billions of physical qubits. These designs increasingly act as blueprints for academic groups and companies and are becoming increasingly more detailed, taking into account both the nature and operation of the physical qubits themselves and also peripheral environmental and control infrastructure that is required for each physical system. In this paper, several architectural structures that I have worked on will be reviewed, each of which has been adopted by either a national quantum computing program or a quantum startup.