Quantinuum researchers make a huge leap forward demonstrating the scalability of the QCCD architecture
Solving the “wiring problem”
Quantum computing promises to revolutionize everything from machine learning to drug design – if we can build a computer with enough qubits (and fault-tolerance, which is for a different blog post). The issue of scaling is arguably one of the hardest problems in the field at large: how can we get more qubits, and critically, how can we make all those qubits work the way we need them to?
A key issue in scaling is called the “wiring problem”. In general, one needs to send control signals to each qubit to perform the necessary operations required for a computation. All extant quantum computers have a hefty number of control signals being sent individually to each qubit. If nothing changes, then as one scales up the number of qubits they would also need to scale up the number of control signals in tandem. This isn’t just impractical (and prohibitively expensive), it also becomes quickly impossible - one can’t physically wire that many signals into a single chip, no matter how delicate their wiring is. The wiring problem is a general problem that all quantum computing companies face, and each architecture will need to find its own solution.
Another key issue in scaling is the “sorting problem” - essentially, you want to be able to move your qubits around so that they can “talk” to each other. While not strictly necessary (for example, superconducting architectures can’t do this), it allows for a much more flexible and robust design – it is the ability to move our qubits around that gives us “all-to-all connectivity”, which bestows a number of advantages such as access to ultra-efficient high density error correcting codes, low-error transversal gates, algorithms for simulating complex problems in physics and chemistry, and more.
Quantinuum just put a huge dent in the scaling problem with their latest result, using a clever approach to minimize the number of signals needed to control the qubits, in a way that doesn’t scale prohibitively with the number of qubits. Specifically, the scheme uses a fixed number of (expensive) analog signals, independent of the number of qubits, plus a single digital input per qubit. Together, this is the minimum amount of information needed for complete motional control. All of this was done with a new trap chip arranged in a 2D grid, uniquely designed to have a perfect balance between the symmetry required to make a uniform trap with the capacity to break the symmetry in a way that gives “direction” (eg left vs right), all while allowing for efficient sorting compared to keeping qubits in a line or a loop. Taken together, this approach solves both the wiring and sorting problems – a remarkable achievement.
Stop-motion ion transport video showing loading an 8-site 2D grid trap with co-wiring and the swap-or-stay primitive operation. Single Yb ions are loaded off screen to the left, and are then transported into the grid top left site and shifted into place with the swap-or-stay primitive until the grid is fully populated. The stop-motion video was collected by segmenting the primitive operation and pausing mid-operation such that Yb fluorescence could be detected with a CMOS camera exposure.
Stop-motion ion transport video showing a chosen sorting operation implemented on an 8-site 2D grid trap with the swap-or-stay primitive. The sort is implemented by discrete choices of swaps or stays between neighboring sites. The numbers shown (indicated by dashed circles) at the beginning and end of the video show the initial and final location of the ions after the sort, e.g. the ion that starts at the top left site ends at the bottom right site. The stop-motion video was collected by segmenting the primitive operation and pausing mid-operation such that Yb fluorescence could be detected with a CMOS camera exposure.
“We are the first company that has designed a trap that can be run with a reasonable number of signals within a framework for a scalable architecture,” said Curtis Volin, Principal R&D Engineer and Scientist.
The team used this new approach to demonstrate qubit transport and sorting with impressive results; demonstrating a swap rate of 2.5 kHz and very low heating. The low heating highlights the quality of the control system, while the swap rate demonstrates the importance of a 2D grid layout – it is much quicker to rearrange qubits on a grid vs qubits in a line or loop. On top of all that, this demonstration was done on three completely separate systems, proving it is not just “hero data” that worked one time on one system, but is instead a reproducible, commercial-quality result. Further underscoring the reproducibility, the data was taken with both Strontium/Barium pairs and Ytterbium/Barium pairs.
This demonstration is a powerful example of Quantinuum’s commitment and capacity for the full design process from conception to delivery: our team designed a brand-new trap chip that has never been seen before, under strict engineering constraints, successfully fabricated that chip with exquisite quality, then finally demonstrated excellent experimental results on the new system.
“It’s a heck of a demonstration,” quipped Ian Hoffman, a Lead Physicist at Quantinuum.
About Quantinuum
Quantinuum, the world’s largest integrated quantum company, pioneers powerful quantum computers and advanced software solutions. Quantinuum’s technology drives breakthroughs in materials discovery, cybersecurity, and next-gen quantum AI. With over 500 employees, including 370+ scientists and engineers, Quantinuum leads the quantum computing revolution across continents.
Last year, we joined forces with RIKEN, Japan's largest comprehensive research institution, to install our hardware at RIKEN’s campus in Wako, Saitama. This deployment is part of RIKEN’s project to build a quantum-HPC hybrid platform consisting of high-performance computing systems, such as the supercomputer Fugaku and Quantinuum Systems.
Today, a paper published in Physical Review Research marks the first of many breakthroughs coming from this international supercomputing partnership. The team from RIKEN and Quantinuum joined up with researchers from Keio University to show that quantum information can be delocalized (scrambled) using a quantum circuit modeled after periodically driven systems.
"Scrambling" of quantum information happens in many quantum systems, from those found in complex materials to black holes. Understanding information scrambling will help researchers better understand things like thermalization and chaos, both of which have wide reaching implications.
To visualize scrambling, imagine a set of particles (say bits in a memory), where one particle holds specific information that you want to know. As time marches on, the quantum information will spread out across the other bits, making it harder and harder to recover the original information from local (few-bit) measurements.
While many classical techniques exist for studying complex scrambling dynamics, quantum computing has been known as a promising tool for these types of studies, due to its inherently quantum nature and ease with implementing quantum elements like entanglement. The joint team proved that to be true with their latest result, which shows that not only can scrambling states be generated on a quantum computer, but that they behave as expected and are ripe for further study.
Thanks to this new understanding, we now know that the preparation, verification, and application of a scrambling state, a key quantum information state, can be consistently realized using currently available quantum computers. Read the paper here, and read more about our partnership with RIKEN here.
In our increasingly connected, data-driven world, cybersecurity threats are more frequent and sophisticated than ever. To safeguard modern life, government and business leaders are turning to quantum randomness.
What is quantum randomness, and why should you care?
The term to know: quantum random number generators (QRNGs).
QRNGs exploit quantum mechanics to generate truly random numbers, providing the highest level of cryptographic security. This supports, among many things:
- Protection of personal data
- Secure financial transactions
- Safeguarding of sensitive communications
- Prevention of unauthorized access to medical records
Quantum technologies, including QRNGs, could protect up to $1 trillion in digital assets annually, according to a recent report by the World Economic Forum and Accenture.
Which industries will see the most value from quantum randomness?
The World Economic Forum report identifies five industry groups where QRNGs offer high business value and clear commercialization potential within the next few years. Those include:
- Financial services
- Information and communication technology
- Chemicals and advanced materials
- Energy and utilities
- Pharmaceuticals and healthcare
In line with these trends, recent research by The Quantum Insider projects the quantum security market will grow from approximately $0.7 billion today to $10 billion by 2030.
When will quantum randomness reach commercialization?
Quantum randomness is already being deployed commercially:
- Early adopters use our Quantum Origin in data centers and smart devices.
- Amid rising cybersecurity threats, demand is growing in regulated industries and critical infrastructure.
Recognizing the value of QRNGs, the financial services sector is accelerating its path to commercialization.
- Last year, HSBC conducted a pilot combining Quantum Origin and post-quantum cryptography to future-proof gold tokens against “store now, decrypt-later” (SNDL) threats.
- And, just last week, JPMorganChase made headlines by using our quantum computer for the first successful demonstration of certified randomness.
On the basis of the latter achievement, we aim to broaden our cybersecurity portfolio with the addition of a certified randomness product in 2025.
How is quantum randomness being regulated?
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) defines the cryptographic regulations used in the U.S. and other countries.
- NIST’s SP 800-90B framework assesses the quality of random number generators.
- The framework is part of the FIPS 140 standard, which governs cryptographic systems operations.
- Organizations must comply with FIPS 140 for their cryptographic products to be used in regulated environments.
This week, we announced Quantum Origin received NIST SP 800-90B Entropy Source validation, marking the first software QRNG approved for use in regulated industries.
What does NIST validation mean for our customers?
This means Quantum Origin is now available for high-security cryptographic systems and integrates seamlessly with NIST-approved solutions without requiring recertification.
- Unlike hardware QRNGs, Quantum Origin requires no network connectivity, making it ideal for air-gapped systems.
- For federal agencies, it complements our "U.S. Made" designation, easing deployment in critical infrastructure.
- It adds further value for customers building hardware security modules, firewalls, PKIs, and IoT devices.
The NIST validation, combined with our peer-reviewed papers, further establishes Quantum Origin as the leading QRNG on the market.
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It is paramount for governments, commercial enterprises, and critical infrastructure to stay ahead of evolving cybersecurity threats to maintain societal and economic security.
Quantinuum delivers the highest quality quantum randomness, enabling our customers to confront the most advanced cybersecurity challenges present today.
The most common question in the public discourse around quantum computers has been, “When will they be useful?” We have an answer.
Very recently in Nature we announced a successful demonstration of a quantum computer generating certifiable randomness, a critical underpinning of our modern digital infrastructure. We explained how we will be taking a product to market this year, based on that advance – one that could only be achieved because we have the world’s most powerful quantum computer.
Today, we have made another huge leap in a different domain, providing fresh evidence that our quantum computers are the best in the world. In this case, we have shown that our quantum computers can be a useful tool for advancing scientific discovery.
Understanding magnetism
Our latest paper shows how our quantum computer rivals the best classical approaches in expanding our understanding of magnetism. This provides an entry point that could lead directly to innovations in fields from biochemistry, to defense, to new materials. These are tangible and meaningful advances that will deliver real world impact.
To achieve this, we partnered with researchers from Caltech, Fermioniq, EPFL, and the Technical University of Munich. The team used Quantinuum’s System Model H2 to simulate quantum magnetism at a scale and level of accuracy that pushes the boundaries of what we know to be possible.
As the authors of the paper state:
“We believe the quantum data provided by System Model H2 should be regarded as complementary to classical numerical methods, and is arguably the most convincing standard to which they should be compared.”
Our computer simulated the quantum Ising model, a model for quantum magnetism that describes a set of magnets (physicists call them ‘spins’) on a lattice that can point up or down, and prefer to point the same way as their neighbors. The model is inherently “quantum” because the spins can move between up and down configurations by a process known as “quantum tunneling”.
Gaining material insights
Researchers have struggled to simulate the dynamics of the Ising model at larger scales due to the enormous computational cost of doing so. Nobel laureate physicist Richard Feynman, who is widely considered to be the progenitor of quantum computing, once said, “it is impossible to represent the results of quantum mechanics with a classical universal device.” When attempting to simulate quantum systems at comparable scales on classical computers, the computational demands can quickly become overwhelming. It is the inherent ‘quantumness’ of these problems that makes them so hard classically, and conversely, so well-suited for quantum computing.
These inherently quantum problems also lie at the heart of many complex and useful material properties. The quantum Ising model is an entry point to confront some of the deepest mysteries in the study of interacting quantum magnets. While rooted in fundamental physics, its relevance extends to wide-ranging commercial and defense applications, including medical test equipment, quantum sensors, and the study of exotic states of matter like superconductivity.
Instead of tailored demonstrations that claim ‘quantum advantage’ in contrived scenarios, our breakthroughs announced this week prove that we can tackle complex, meaningful scientific questions difficult for classical methods to address. In the work described in this paper, we have proved that quantum computing could be the gold standard for materials simulations. These developments are critical steps toward realizing the potential of quantum computers.
With only 56 qubits in our commercially available System Model H2, the most powerful quantum system in the world today, we are already testing the limits of classical methods, and in some cases, exceeding them. Later this year, we will introduce our massively more powerful 96-qubit Helios system - breaching the boundaries of what until recently was deemed possible.