It was expected that the quantum race, a 21st century version of the space race, continue its course. After Google’s proposal with his Willow microchip, a team of Chinese scientists has developed a quantum processing unit (QPU) one thousand billion times faster than the best supercomputers on the planet.
The new 105 cubits chip prototype, called “Zuchongzhi 3.0”which uses superconductor cubits, represents a significant advance for quantum computing, according to scientists from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in Hefei.
Your abilities They compete with the results of the last QPU Willow of Googlewhich allowed scientists to claim quantum supremacy in laboratory tests. The scientists used the processor to complete a task in the random circuit sampling reference test (RSC) of quantum computing, widely used, in just a few hundred seconds, as reported in a Study published in Physical Review Letters.
This test, a random circuit sampling task of 83 cubits and 32 layers, It also completed a million times faster that the result obtained by the Sycamore chip of the previous generation of Google. In contrast, Frontier, the second fastest supercomputer in the world, “alone” could complete the same task in 5.9 billion years.
Although The results suggest that QPUs are able to achieve quantum supremacythe specific RCS comparative evaluation used favors quantum methods. In addition, improvements in classic algorithms that drive classical computing could close the gap, as happened in 2019 when Google scientists first announced that a quantum computer had surpassed a classic computer, in the first use of RSC comparative evaluation.
“Our work not only expands the borders of quantum computing, but also Feel the foundations for a new era in which quantum processors They play an essential role to address the sophisticated real world challenges, ”says the study.
The latest version of Zuchongzhi includes 105 Transcon Cubits (devices made of metals such as tantalium, niobium and aluminum, with less noise sensitivity) in a rectangular network of 15 x 7. One of the most important aspects for the viability of quantum computing in real environments It is the coherence time, a time measure during which a cubit can maintain its overlap and take advantage of the laws of quantum mechanics to perform parallel calculations. Longer coherence times allow more complex operations and calculations.
Another important improvement is found in the loyalty of the door and the correction of quantum errors, which has been an obstacle to the development of useful quantum computers. The loyalty of the door measures the precision with which a quantum door performs its planned operation; A quantum door is analogous to a classical logical door, which performs a specific operation in one or more cubitsmanipulating its quantum status. The greatest fidelity cubits translate into less more precise errors and calculations.
These improvements were possible, to a large extent, thanks to engineering improvements, including new manufacturing methods and a more optimized cubits design, as scientists explained in the study. For example, the last iteration defines lithographically The components of the cubits using tantalium and aluminum, united by an inverted chip process with indi protuberanceseither. This improves precision and minimizes pollution.