Quantum computers could make real scientific calculations that would take conventional machines millions of years to complete. At the same time, the fundamental unit of quantum computers — the so-called «qubit» — although fast, is very finicky.
Qubits are easy to break, which makes them error-prone: about 1 in 1000 qubits fails, compared to 1 in 1 billion bits in conventional computers. To solve this problem, quantum researchers often create more physical qubits than needed and use error-correcting techniques.
Microsoft and Quantinuum have claimed to have made a breakthrough in this area. According to Reuters, Microsoft has created and applied a proprietary error correction algorithm to the physical qubits of the Quantinuum, creating 4 reliable qubits out of a total of 30 physical qubits. Jason Zander, Microsoft’s Executive Vice President of Strategic Missions and Technology, said that this is the best ratio of reliable qubits from a quantum chip ever demonstrated:
«We’ve run over 14,000 separate experiments without a single error. This is 800 times better than anything previously recorded».
Microsoft said it plans to release the technology to its cloud computing customers in the coming months.
Quantinuum researchers, like the rest of its competitors, typically cite the figure of 100 reliable qubits as necessary to «defeat» a conventional supercomputer. But neither Microsoft nor Quantinuum has specified how long it will take to reach this goal.
«We’re now at least two years ahead of schedule, if not more,», — said Ilyas Khan, Chief Product Officer at Quantinuum.
Meanwhile, rival QuEra has announced that it will launch for sale in 2024 the world’s first fault-tolerant quantum computer and in two years — 10,000 cubic meters.