IonQ and University of Maryland Researchers Demonstrate Fault-Tolerant Error Correction, Critical for Unlocking the Full Potential of Quantum Computers
October 11 2021 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
- New study shows how trapped ions can be
encoded to create qubits that are robust against errors
- Team is first to demonstrate fault-tolerant
error correction in practice, identifying and correcting errors
without the risk of creating more
- Results show promise for scaling
error-corrected qubits, a necessary step to building more powerful
quantum computers
Researchers from The University of Maryland and IonQ, Inc.
(“IonQ”) (NYSE: IONQ), a leader in trapped-ion quantum computing,
on Monday published results in the journal Nature that show a
significant breakthrough in error correction technology for quantum
computers. In collaboration with scientists from Duke University
and the Georgia Institute of Technology, this work demonstrates for
the first time how quantum computers can overcome quantum computing
errors, a key technical obstacle to large-scale use cases like
financial market prediction or drug discovery.
Quantum computers suffer from errors when qubits encounter
environmental interference. Quantum error correction works by
combining multiple qubits together to form a “logical qubit” that
more securely stores quantum information. But storing information
by itself is not enough; quantum algorithms also need to access and
manipulate the information. To interact with information in a
logical qubit without creating more errors, the logical qubit needs
to be “fault-tolerant.”
The study, completed at the University of Maryland,
peer-reviewed, and published in the journal Nature, demonstrates
how trapped ion systems like IonQ’s can soon deploy fault-tolerant
logical qubits to overcome the problem of error correction at
scale. By successfully creating the first “fault-tolerant logical
qubit” — a qubit that is resilient to a failure in any one
component — the team has laid the foundation for quantum computers
that are both reliable and large enough for practical uses such as
risk modeling or shipping route optimization. The team demonstrated
that this could be achieved with minimal overhead, requiring only
nine physical qubits to encode one logical qubit. This will allow
IonQ to apply error correction only when needed, in the amount
needed, while minimizing qubit cost.
“This is about significantly reducing the overhead in
computational power that is typically required for error correction
in quantum computers," said Peter Chapman, President and CEO of
IonQ. "If a computer spends all its time and power correcting
errors, that's not a useful computer. What this paper shows is how
the trapped ion approach used in IonQ systems can leapfrog others
to fault tolerance by taking small, unreliable parts and turning
them into a very reliable device. Competitors are likely to need
orders of magnitude more qubits to achieve similar error correction
results.”
Behind today’s study are recently graduated UMD PhD students and
current IonQ quantum engineers, Laird Egan and Daiwei Zhu, IonQ
cofounder Chris Monroe as well as IonQ technical advisor and Duke
Professor Ken Brown. Coauthors of the paper include: UMD and Joint
Quantum Institute (JQI) research scientist Marko Cetina;
postdoctoral researcher Crystal Noel; graduate students Andrew
Risinger and Debopriyo Biswas; Duke University graduate student
Dripto M. Debroy and postdoctoral researcher Michael Newman; and
Georgia Institute of Technology graduate student Muyuan Li.
The news follows on the heels of other significant technological
developments from IonQ. The company recently demonstrated the
industry’s first Reconfigurable Multicore Quantum Architecture
(RMQA) technology, which can dynamically configure 4 chains of 16
ions into quantum computing cores. The company also recently
debuted patent-pending evaporated glass traps: technology that lays
the foundation for continual improvements to IonQ’s hardware and
supports a significant increase in the number of ions that can be
trapped in IonQ’s quantum computers. Furthermore, it recently
became the first quantum computer company whose systems are
available for use via all major cloud providers. Last week, IonQ
also became the first publicly-traded, pure-play quantum computing
company.
About IonQ
IonQ, Inc. is a leader in quantum computing, with a proven track
record of innovation and deployment. IonQ’s next-generation quantum
computer is the world’s most powerful trapped-ion quantum computer,
and IonQ has defined what it believes is the best path forward to
scale. IonQ is the only company with its quantum systems available
through the cloud on Amazon Braket, Microsoft Azure, and Google
Cloud, as well as through direct API access. IonQ was founded in
2015 by Christopher Monroe and Jungsang Kim based on 25 years of
pioneering research. To learn more, visit www.ionq.com.
About the University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park is the state's flagship
university and one of the nation's preeminent public research
universities. A global leader in research, entrepreneurship and
innovation, the university is home to more than 40,000
students,10,000 faculty and staff, and 297 academic programs. As
one of the nation’s top producers of Fulbright scholars, its
faculty includes two Nobel laureates, three Pulitzer Prize winners
and 58 members of the national academies. The institution has a
$2.2 billion operating budget and secures more than $1 billion
annually in research funding together with the University of
Maryland, Baltimore. For more information about the University of
Maryland, College Park, visit www.umd.edu.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements
within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended. Some of the forward-looking statements can be identified
by the use of forward-looking words. Statements that are not
historical in nature, including the words “anticipate,” “expect,”
“suggests,” “plan,” “believe,” “intend,” “estimates,” “targets,”
“projects,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “may,” “will,” “forecast”
and other similar expressions are intended to identify
forward-looking statements. These statements include those related
to the Company’s ability to further develop and advance its quantum
computers and achieve scale; and the ability of competitors to
achieve similar error correction results. Forward-looking
statements are predictions, projections and other statements about
future events that are based on current expectations and
assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and
uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual future events to
differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this press
release, including but not limited to: market adoption of quantum
computing solutions and the Company’s products, services and
solutions; the ability of the Company to protect its intellectual
property; changes in the competitive industries in which the
Company operates; changes in laws and regulations affecting the
Company’s business; the Company’s ability to implement its business
plans, forecasts and other expectations, and identify and realize
additional partnerships and opportunities; and the risk of
downturns in the market and the technology industry including, but
not limited to, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The foregoing
list of factors is not exhaustive. You should carefully consider
the foregoing factors and the other risks and uncertainties
described in the “Risk Factors” section of the registration
statement on Form S-4 and other documents filed by the Company from
time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These
filings identify and address other important risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ
materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made.
Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking
statements, and the Company assumes no obligation and do not intend
to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future events, or otherwise. The Company
does not give any assurance that it will achieve its
expectations.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211011005114/en/
For IonQ: ionq@missionnorth.com
Investor Contact: Michael Bowen and Ryan Gardella
IonQIR@icrinc.com
University of Maryland Media contact: Sara Gavin University of
Maryland sgavin@umd.edu
IonQ (NYSE:IONQ)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
IonQ (NYSE:IONQ)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024