NQCC Announces QuEra: The Next Generation Neutral Atom Quantum Computer

QuEra Computing has been selected to supply the UK's National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC) with an error-corrected neutral atom quantum computer. This is part of the NQCC's £30m program aimed at gathering six different prototype quantum computers. The computer is expected to be operational by early 2025.

The neutral atoms used in this quantum computer are rubidium, which are manipulated by laser optical tweezers and operated by laser. By altering the energy state of the electrons in the atom, they can represent the equivalent of 0 or 1.

Noise is a significant challenge in quantum computing, and QuEra addresses this issue by implementing its own form of quantum error correction. They define "logical qubits" within which multiple entangled physical qubits encode information redundantly.

"The initial test-bed in the UK will build upon the recently-announced breakthrough using logical qubits to detect and correct errors inherent to quantum calculations," according to QuEra. "A key part of this process is qubit shuttling, which enables qubits to move while preserving their quantum state and allows for the entanglement of nearby qubits. As a result, the UK will be home to the first qubit shuttling and error correction test-bed in the world."

QuEra will be testing its most advanced architecture yet. "This zoned architecture is the quantum equivalent of a classical Von-Neumann architecture," the company stated. "The test-bed will have the ability to coherently shuttle groups of atoms, which sets the stage for experimentation with logical qubits. A critical enabler is the ability to dynamically reconfigure atoms in the processor using movable optical tweezers, introducing all-to-all gate connectivity, programmability at scale with just a few local optical controls, and making possible a variety of zoned-architectures."

The company also plans to introduce mid-circuit measurement, allowing for conditional operations and executions based on intermediate results. This will "set the stage for future improvements such as the ability to correct errors or make dynamic adjustments to ongoing computations," said QuEra.

In addition to testing the architecture, the collaboration hopes to refine hardware requirements to develop a supply chain for neutral atom quantum computers. QuEra Computing, based in Boston, Massachusetts, is built on research from Harvard University and MIT. They will be working with UK collaborators on the NQCC prototype.

The NQCC will be located at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Harwell, Oxfordshire. Their schedule includes having a building by the end of 2024 and six operating quantum computer prototypes by the end of 2025.

"These system-level prototypes will help the NQCC and its collaborators to understand the unique characteristics of different hardware approaches, establish appropriate metrics for each qubit architecture, and explore the types of applications that benefit most from each technological approach," said NQCC director Michael Cuthbert. "That will feed directly into the NQCC's ongoing engagement with organizations across academia, industry, and government to develop use cases for early-stage quantum computers and to identify the innovations that will be needed."