QuiX has nearly doubled the size of its optical quantum processors
On March 3, Dutch optical quantum computing company QuiX Quantum announced the launch of "the world's largest optical quantum processor", and the new 20 quantum mode (qumode) processor is superior in scale and quality to the previous generation of 12 mode processors. This is a processor based on the continuous variable (CV) model. Qubits in superconducting or ion trap quantum computers are discrete variables (DV). But the world's largest optical quantum processor is debatable, with Xanadu already having 24 models.
Quix Quantum's 20 quantum mode optical quantum processor chip
The Shin-optic quantum processor called Dolphin20_1550 has much lower losses than previous generation processors. The specific parameters are compared as follows:
QuiX said that with the launch of this product, QuiX Quantum has consolidated its position as a global market leader in optical quantum computing hardware.
QuiX's products stand out from the competition because of their superior specifications and their commercial maturity: the system is plug-and-play and compatible with all the photonic sources, detectors, and other quantum photonics hardware currently on the market.
Today, QuiX's products have spread throughout Europe, and it has also become the standard setter for optical quantum computing in the quantum ecosystem of France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Hungary and so on.
What is the quantum mode?
In the continuous-variable (CV) model, the basic unit for processing information is an infinite-dimensional boson mode called qumode, which makes it particularly suitable for experiments and applications related to light. In contrast, qubits in superconducting or ion trap quantum computers are discrete variables (DV).
CV model not only retains the computational power of the DV model but also provides some unique characteristics. For example, the CV model is suitable for simulating boson systems (such as electromagnetic field, captured atom, harmonic oscillator, Bose Einstein condensate, phonon, or optomechanical resonator), but also for environments with continuous quantum operators (such as position and momentum). CV model has some advantages over the qubit model. For example, CV model only needs fewer coupled systems to perform calculations.
The most basic CV system is the boson harmonic oscillator. The mode state in the system is related to the orthogonal operators, including the position operator and the momentum operator.
A fixed resonant mode (such as in a waveguide on an optical fiber or photonic chip) as a single "wire" in a quantum circuit, and called a quantum mode, is the basic information-bearing unit of a CV quantum computer. By combining multiple quantum modes, each of which has corresponding operators â and operator â†, and interacting with them through suitable quantum gate sequences, general-purpose CV quantum computations can eventually be realized.
About QuiX Quantum
QuiX Quantum is a startup that takes the path of optical quantum technology. The company was born in 2019 and is headquartered at the Centre for Photonic Ecosystems at the University of Twente in Engelschede, the Netherlands, with a core technical team from Professor Jelmer Renema of the University of Twente. In December 2020, QuiX pioneered its first optical quantum processor, the 12 Quantum Mode Processor, and brought it to market in 2021; QuiX has completed two rounds of funding. QuiX will continue to develop plug-and-play optical quantum computing solutions in the future.
