CAREER: Applications and Architectures with Heterogeneous Superconducting Qubits

Yale University, New Haven CT

Investigators

Abstract

Quantum computers can help solve some of the most complex problems in physics, chemistry, material design, optimization, and machine learning. One of the leading challenges in building quantum computers is to demonstrate robust quantum information processing in the presence of quantum noise. In the last decade, tremendous theoretical and experimental progress has been made toward realizing fault tolerant quantum computation. While these advances have made possible several proof-of-principle logical qubit experiments, scaling quantum systems to the quantity and quality of logical qubits needed by many applications requires a new generation of systems tool flows. The goal of this project is to develop a practical architecture based on heterogeneous superconducting qubits, as well as its crucial compiling and benchmarking tools, that will allow applications to be executed fault tolerantly while requiring fewer resources, bringing closer the goals of practical quantum advantage on near-term hardware. Education and outreach activities will make advances toward creating a sustained and sustainable pipeline from K-12 through graduate levels. This project envisions a fault-tolerant architecture based on superconducting circuits where cheap, noisy qubits and expensive, error-corrected qubits can co-exist. Intelligent compilation software will be developed to map applications onto this heterogeneous architecture, while achieving significant resource savings for fault tolerance. By drawing deeply on ideas from quantum information and computer architecture, the program creates new opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration and exposes a broader audience to quantum computing through open lectures, software libraries, and outreach events. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.