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IEEE Computer Society Annual Symposium on VLSI

Scalable Superconductor Ising Machine for Combinatorial Optimization Problems

Beyza Zeynep Ucpinar, Sasan Razmkhah, Mehdi Kamal, Massoud Pedram

Published Jul 1, 2024• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

Complex combinatorial optimization problems serve as the foundation for various real-world applications. The time required to identify the optimal solutions to these problems escalates dramatically as the problem grows. Nevertheless, transforming these problems into another NP-complete problem, like the Ising model with a representation as a physical phenomenon, can be efficiently approximated. In this work, we use a system of bistable Josephson parametric oscillators (JPO) as artificial spins to realize the Ising model on a superconductor fabric. By integrating these JPOs based on the Lechner, Zoller, and Hauke (LHZ) architecture, we design a superconductor-based scalable Ising machine (IM). We develop a framework to automatically create the IM circuit and tune its parameters. The circuit functionality is assessed by simulating an IM designed for solving four-, six-, and ten-node unweighted Max-Cut problems.

DOI
10.1109/isvlsi61997.2024.00107

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Complex combinatorial optimization problems serve as the foundation for various real-world applications. The time required to identify the optimal solutions to these problems escalates dramatically as the problem grows. Nevertheless, transforming these problems into another NP-complete problem, like the Ising model with a representation as a physical phenomenon, can be efficiently approximated. In this work, we use a system of bistable Josephson parametric oscillators (JPO) as artificial spins to realize the Ising model on a superconductor fabric. By integrating these JPOs based on the Lechner, Zoller, and Hauke (LHZ) architecture, we design a superconductor-based scalable Ising machine (IM). We develop a framework to automatically create the IM circuit and tune its parameters. The circuit functionality is assessed by simulating an IM designed for solving four-, six-, and ten-node unweighted Max-Cut problems.
Ising machines (IMs) have emerged as a promising solution for rapidly solving NP-complete combinatorial optimization problems, surpassing the capabilities of traditional computing methods. By efficiently determining the ground state of the Hamiltonian during the annealing process, IMs can effectively complement CPUs in tackling optimization challenges. To realize these IMs, a bistable oscillator is essential to emulate the atomic spins and interactions of the Ising model. This study introduces a Josephson parametric oscillator (JPO) based tile structure, serving as a fundamental unit for scalable superconductor-based IMs. Leveraging the bistable nature of JPOs, which are superconductor-based oscillators, the proposed machine can operate at frequencies of $\ensuremath{\sim}7.5$ GHz while consuming significantly less power (by three orders of magnitude) than complementary metal-oxide semiconductor based systems. Furthermore, the compatibility of the proposed tile structure with the Lechner-Hauke-Zoller architecture ensures its viability for large-scale integration. We conducted simulations of the tile in a noisy environment to validate its functionality. We verified its operational characteristics by comparing the results with the analytical solution of its Hamiltonian model. This verification demonstrates the feasibility and effectiveness of the JPO-based tile in implementing IMs, opening new avenues for efficient and scalable combinatorial optimization in quantum computing.
This paper presents a CMOS-compatible Lechner-Hauke-Zoller (LHZ)--based analog tile structure as a fundamental unit for developing scalable analog Ising machines (IMs). In the designed LHZ tile, the voltage-controlled oscillators are employed as the physical Ising spins, while for the ancillary spins, we introduce an oscillator-based circuit to emulate the constraint needed to ensure the correct functionality of the tile. We implement the proposed LHZ tile in 12nm FinFET technology using the Cadence Virtuoso. Simulation results show the proposed tile could converge to the results in about 31~ns. Also, the designed spins could operate at approximately 13~GHz.
The analysis and optimization of complex systems can be reduced to mathematical problems collectively known as combinatorial optimization. Many such problems can be mapped onto ground-state search problems of the Ising model, and various artificial spin systems are now emerging as promising approaches. However, physical Ising machines have suffered from limited numbers of spin-spin couplings because of implementations based on localized spins, resulting in severe scalability problems. We report a 2000-spin network with all-to-all spin-spin couplings. Using a measurement and feedback scheme, we coupled time-multiplexed degenerate optical parametric oscillators to implement maximum cut problems on arbitrary graph topologies with up to 2000 nodes. Our coherent Ising machine outperformed simulated annealing in terms of accuracy and computation time for a 2000-node complete graph.
Various artificial spin systems with networked physical devices are now emerging as a way to simulate the Ising model. Combinatorial optimization problems for many applications can be mapped onto ground state search problems of the Ising model and solved efficiently with the artificial spin system. Here, we report a coherent Ising machine based on 2,048 networked degenerate optical parametric oscillators. All-to-all couplings were achieved with a measurement and feedback scheme to implement arbitrary graph structures with up to 2,048 nodes. The coherent Ising machine can simulate large-scale Ising model and obtain good solutions for the optimization of a 2,000-node complete graph.
The Ising machine, as a quantum-inspired computing system, can be used to efficiently solve combinatorial optimization problems. Ongoing studies have positioned it to potentially surpass the performance limitations of traditional computers. However, such Ising machines also suffer from scalability as the solution quality becomes sub-optimal when the problem size increases. In this work, we propose an Ising-based framework that uses a distributed Ising algorithm to find the near-optimal solution for large-scale Max-Cut problems through parallel processing via graph segmentation and reassembly. We selected the coherent Ising machine as the hardware solver and successfully found the solution for a 2000-node instance utilizing 20 computational bits on the Gset standard dataset. Additionally, we investigated the key factors influencing the system's performance and discovered that setting the number of reorganizations to one results in higher accuracy. Building on this configuration, we utilized a 100-bit CIM hardware platform (CPQC-1) to solve instances with varying numbers of nodes. The experimental results agree well with the theoretical simulations, confirming the practical feasibility of our method. Moreover, compared to existing Ising-based solvers, our algorithm significantly reduces computational resource requirements while achieving superior performance on large-scale combinatorial optimization problems, highlighting its effectiveness on quantum-inspired hardware.
We report on a new class of Ising machines (IMs) that rely on coupled parametric frequency dividers (PFDs) as macroscopic artificial spins. Unlike the IM counterparts based on subharmonic-injection locking (SHIL), PFD IMs do not require strong injected continuous-wave signals or applied dc voltages. Therefore, they show a significantly lower power consumption per spin compared to SHIL-based IMs, making it feasible to accurately solve large-scale combinatorial optimization problems that are hard or even impossible to solve by using the current von Neumann computing architectures. Furthermore, using high quality factor resonators in the PFD design makes PFD IMs able to exhibit a nanowatt-level power per spin. Also, it remarkably allows a speedup of the phase synchronization among the PFDs, resulting in shorter time to solution and lower energy to solution despite the resonators' longer relaxation time. As a proof of concept, a 4-node PFD IM has been demonstrated. This IM correctly solves a set of Max-Cut problems while consuming just 600 nanowatts per spin. This power consumption is 2 orders of magnitude lower than the power per spin of state-of-the-art SHIL-based IMs operating at the same frequency.