Oak Ridge labs gets hybrid quantum-HPC system to test qubit error correction

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has acquired a hybrid quantum-HPC system to advance research into quantum error correction. The Quantum Science Center (QSC) at ORNL, supported by the US Department of Energy (DoE), introduced a co-design platform for quantum error correction, merging quantum and high-performance computing (HPC) technology.

Though fault-tolerant quantum systems are still about a decade away, recent advancements in the field include early demonstrations of protecting quantum information from environmental noise. ORNL Director of QSC, Travis Humble, emphasized the importance of solving quantum error correction challenges for practical quantum computing applications.

IBM Fellow and IBM Research Director, Jay Gambetta, noted that the focus is now on accelerating and optimizing error correction for practical systems. The new co-design platform, which combines IBM Quantum System Two with 120-qubit Nighthawk r2 processors and AMD's Umbra HPC system, provides a single environment for quantum error correction research.

AMD's CPUs and GPUs, along with AMD Versal SoCs, enable orchestration, general-purpose performance, and accelerated simulation for quantum workloads. The platform also allows researchers to explore hierarchical error correction, a promising approach that uses an inner code to protect qubits and an outer code to provide additional protection, potentially achieving a trillion logical operations with a low physical error rate.

This co-design platform is expected to play a crucial role in the DoE's Quantum Genesis Mission objectives, including the Q Competition to develop a system with 100 logical qubits capable of performing hundreds of millions of fault-tolerant operations by 2028.