IBM Unveils “Breakthrough” Quantum Processor

IBM has announced its new 127-quantum bit (qubit) ‘Eagle’ processor at the IBM Quantum Summit 2021, its annual event to showcase milestones in quantum hardware, software, and the growth of the quantum ecosystem. IBM states that the ‘Eagle’ processor is a “breakthrough” in tapping into the computing potential of devices based on quantum physics.

Quantum computing taps into the fundamental quantum nature of matter at subatomic levels to offer the possibility of vastly increased computing power. The fundamental computational unit of quantum computing is the quantum circuit, an arrangement of qubits into quantum gates and measurements. The more qubits a quantum processor possesses, the more complex and valuable the quantum circuits that it can run.

IBM recently debuted detailed roadmaps for quantum computing, including a path for scaling quantum hardware to enable complex quantum circuits to reach Quantum Advantage, the point at which quantum systems can meaningfully outperform their classical counterpoints. Eagle is the latest step along this scaling path.

‘Eagle’ is IBM’s first quantum processor developed and deployed to contain more than 100 operational and connected qubits. It follows IBM’s 65-qubit ‘Hummingbird’ processor unveiled in 2020 and the 27-qubit ‘Falcon’ processor unveiled in 2019. To achieve this breakthrough, IBM researchers built on innovations pioneered within its existing quantum processors, such as a qubit arrangement design to reduce errors and architecture to reduce the number of necessary components. The new techniques leveraged within Eagle place control wiring on multiple physical levels within the processor whilst keeping the qubits on a single layer, which enables a significant increase in qubits.

The increased qubit count will allow users to explore problems at a new level of complexity when undertaking experiments and running applications, such as optimizing machine learning or modelling new molecules and materials for use in areas spanning from the energy industry to the drug discovery process. ‘Eagle’ is the first IBM quantum processor whose scale makes it impossible for a classical computer to reliably simulate. The number of classical bits necessary to represent a state on the 127-qubit processor exceeds the total number of atoms in the more than 7.5 billion people alive today.

“The arrival of the ‘Eagle’ processor is a major step towards the day when quantum computers can outperform classical computers for useful applications”, said Dr Darío Gil, Senior Vice President, IBM and Director of Research. “Quantum computing has the power to transform nearly every sector and help us tackle the biggest problems of our time. This is why IBM continues to rapidly innovate quantum hardware and software design, building ways for quantum and classical workloads to empower each other and create a global ecosystem that is imperative to the growth of a quantum industry”.

As IBM continues scaling its processors, they are expected to mature beyond the infrastructure of IBM Quantum System One – the world’s first integrated quantum computing system. Therefore, the company has also announced a “concept for the future of quantum computing systems” in the IBM Quantum System Two. IBM Quantum System Two is designed to work with IBM’s future 433-qubit and 1,121 qubit processors.

“IBM Quantum System Two offers a glimpse into the future quantum computing datacenter, where modularity and flexibility of system infrastructure will be key towards continued scaling”, said Dr Jay Gambetta, IBM Fellow and VP of Quantum Computing. “System Two draws on IBM’s long heritage in both quantum and classical computing, bringing in new innovations at every level of the technology stack”.

The new design brings the possibility to provide a larger shared cryogenic work-space – ultimately leading to the potential linking of multiple quantum processors. The prototype IBM Quantum System Two is expected to be up and running in 2023.

The first ‘Eagle’ processor is available as an exploratory device on the IBM Cloud to select members of the IBM Quantum Network.

You can find more information about IBM and its “breakthrough” quantum processor on its website.

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