Search Quantinuum's Quantum Lab
Preface: In order to popularize the knowledge of science and technology and spread scientific ideas, Photon Box has opened a column called "Visiting" to lead readers to visit quantum factories and laboratories around the world.
In a monotonous, vinyl-floored, windowless office building north of Denver, USA, there is one of the wonders of the computer industry.
In fact, there are several wonders: a data center, two commercial quantum computers running inside for paying customers including JPMorgan Chase, and a prototype under construction.
Quantum computers are amazing because they operate on the basis of the rules of quantum mechanics: the tiniest parts of the universe where the rules of what we think of as physics don't always apply. Instead of transistors that compute information by switching on and off, quantum computers use quantum bits that can be switched to "on," "off" or some state in between.
Proponents have said that these computers have the unique ability to solve complex problems. For example, discovering new materials or determining how to improve supply chains.
Quantinuum began building the quantum computers in 2021 after Cambridge Quantum, a British quantum company acquired by Honeywell and spun off from defense contractor giant Honeywell. A few days before Quantinuum officially unveiled its 32-bit, second-generation quantum computer, H2, on Tuesday, some U.S. media and analysts were invited, to visit it.
The new design also offers operational efficiencies and a clear path to growth.
An overview of H2, including upgrades to device design and gating operations.
Quantinuum claims that H2 is the most accurate quantum computer ever built. The company has also published the results of numerous benchmarks it has conducted to support this slightly "exaggerated" claim: a research paper titled "A Race Track Trapped-Ion Quantum Processor" details all of these engineering advances and their exact impact on the machine's computational performance. The paper includes results from component- and system-level benchmark tests that document the capabilities of the new machine at launch. These benchmarking metrics, combined with the company's advances in topological quantum bits, represent a new stage in quantum computing.
That's an important statement. Because if these computers are to reach their potential, they will need to one day be far more powerful than today's supercomputers; they will need to use hundreds, thousands, or even more quantum bits. And to do this, these quantum bits must maintain a stable operating performance.
Tiny changes in the environment (such as temperature or light) can disrupt their work. The more quantum bits are packed together, the more likely the computer is to be disturbed by this so-called noise, and the more inaccurate the overall computing results will be.
Because of this, some skeptics say that quantum computing on this scale may not be possible. Still, Russell Stutz, Quantinuum's director for designing and building these computers, says his work has made him a believer: He believes "it's not if, but when."
Other competitors are focusing on records of scale; in November, IBM unveiled a 400-quantum-bit machine, and Google has been using a 54-quantum-bit processor called Sycamore since 2019. A handful of startups are also working on quanta.
No one can say how long it will be before quantum computers reach the scale and reliability to deliver on their promise; but they are already in use, for early adopters experimenting with the technology. Companies like Nvidia and Microsoft are also building their own quantum computers - they're even Quantinuum partners.
There's still work to be done, because even though quantum computers claim to be 99 percent accurate, that only "ensures that you get the wrong result when you do millions of calculations. All of this explains why Quantinuum's computer is amazing: it looks more like a science experiment than a next-generation computing technology.
On the day, visitors were not allowed to take photos of the actual computer or data center, but the company shared a basic schematic of what the H2 computer would look like.
A schematic of the Quantinuum H2 computer.
As shown above, the computer is the size of a small room, with its components scattered across several tables, rather than being housed in a boxy enclosure like a typical supercomputer.
The computer is actually spread over two 100-square-foot platforms, with blue cables all over the place, neatly arranged; and piped into a conventional, but custom-built computing device to control the computer and its environment. quantinuum uses lasers to cool and control the "chamber" where the quantum bits are located. ".
Knobs and custom controls line the table below. Computers are usually hidden behind black curtains to insulate the environment; a group of PhD scientists work in the room while monitors are at the back against the wall.
The room's controls also hold a tray the size of a thumbnail with 32 quantum bits on it.
Quantinuum's computer uses "trapped ions" as the basis for its quantum bits, which means that atomic scientists strip atoms (from the mineral ytterbium) of their electrons, charge them, and place them in a thumbnail-sized tray that restricts their movement.
This H2 computer is currently 32 quantum bits, but the company says it will grow to 50. They are building a prototype that can handle more; Stutz said that version will use a grid-patterned tray, so the area now used for the computer, about 100 square feet, will not need to be larger.
The tiny quantum bits are in a metal chamber about the size of a cantaloupe, which needs to be kept cold enough to reach almost "absolute zero" - the lowest possible temperature. These quantum bits emit light, indicating whether they are on, off, or somewhere in between.
As Quantinuum makes its computers more powerful, it hopes to shrink their size over time. As for when these room-sized computers will shrink in size and cost and become just another computer on our desks, "That's not going to happen in the foreseeable future," Stutz said. "For now, it's still a cloud service where customers can send work as easily as they can upload files. "
Looking at the Quantinuum computer and listening to all the science that went into inventing it, we are on the cusp of a new era: similar to when computing pioneer Ada Lovelace explained the potential of the "analytical engine".
Reference links:
[1] https://www.quantinuum.com/news/quantinuum-launches-the-most-benchmarked-quantum-computer-in-the-world-and-publishes-all-the- data
[2] https://www.businessinsider.com/quantinuum-new-quantum-computer-microsoft-jpmorgan-nvidia-2023-5
[3] https://arxiv.org/pdf/2305.03828.pdf
