Quantum Technology Insight

Quantum hardware – into the quantum jungle

The quantum computing landscape has been transformed by a surge of commercial startups pursuing very different technical paths. Investors and pioneers must prepare themselves for a challenging journey ahead. A growing list of major, midsized and startup companies have joined the quantum computing quest. However today’s prototype devices must be radically scaled up before they…

Superconducting qubits

Superconducting qubits

Superconducting qubits have seized an early lead in commercial quantum computing activity. Being first to demonstrate technical quantum supremacy means they are well placed to search for NISQ quantum advantage. However there are significant challenges to be faced in scaling up these systems in the extreme cryogenic environments they require. At milli-Kelvin temperatures, resistance-free current…

Trapped ions

Trapped ions

Years of academic activity is now transforming itself into a wave of spin-outs and startups. Trapped ion proponents point to the very high fidelity gates that have been achieved and additional opportunities for qubit connectivity. However the best gates have historically required precision Raman laser setups that come with their own significant challenges. Strip away…

Silicon spin

Silicon spin

Silicon enjoys an unrivaled lead in human fabrication know-how and investment. Importantly, in its isotopically purified form, it is an ideal neutral material to host sensitive spin qubits. Proponents emphasise the potential of this technology to deliver chip-scale solutions where some other approaches would require ‘building-size’ machines. But spin quibts are delicate. Nanofabricating the right…

NV diamonds

NV diamonds

Our ability to fabricate in diamond has undergone a transformation that is perhaps not fully appreciated outside of the specialist community. Diamond is another material well suited to hosting qubits. Point defects in a diamond lattice act in many ways like isolated atoms and can be used to form qubits. Nitrogen-vacancy colour centres are widely…

Phontonics

Photonic

Light is the first system where humans observed quantum phenomena and remains in many ways the best understood. Conventionally driven investment in silicon photonics has now transformed our ability to engineer light in compact devices. Photons are naturally immune to many conventional forms of noise and most operations can already be completed with very high…

Neutral atoms

Neutral atoms

Neutral atoms can be confined in 2D arrays and 3D lattice structures by laser tweezers. Because of this natural ability to mimic systems of interest, they have long been considered a leading platform for analogue quantum simulation. However recent progress in demonstrating long-range 2Q gates across such structures have drawn attention to their potential as…

Topological qubits

Topological qubits

We don’t worry about errors in conventional computing chips because the digital transistor has hardware error correction built in. That’s why transistors replaced valves, unlocking the digital revolution. The idea behind topological qubits is to repeat this trick. Topological qubit proponents often use the analogy of tying a knot in a piece of string. The…

dilution fridge

Control and measurement plane

As one of the first quantum platforms to start to significantly scale-up, superconducting qubit platforms have been first to face a series of control plane challenges. These are complicated by the need to work down to extreme cryogenic temperatures. Pioneers face challenges across cryogenics, control electronics and control software. Cryogenics The first challenge for many…

Impact of Quantum Technology on Industry Sectors

Qubit Dashboard

For the references supporting this data please see the accompanying SWOT analysis documents. Fact Based Insight gives precedence to: articles published in refereed journals, arXiv articles, conference presentations, personal correspondence. Note: IonQ recently announced 32Q device with expected high QV not yet included as no performance results yet reported. This data represents Fact Based Insights…