How to Wire a <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" overflow="scroll"><mml:mn>1000</mml:mn></mml:math> -Qubit Trapped-Ion Quantum Computer
AI Breakdown
Get a structured breakdown of this paper — what it's about, the core idea, and key takeaways for the field.
Abstract
One of the most formidable challenges of scaling up quantum computers is that of control signal delivery. Today's small-scale quantum computers typically connect each qubit to one or more separate external signal sources. This approach is not scalable due to the I/O limitations of the qubit chip, necessitating the integration of control electronics. However, it is no small feat to shrink control electronics into a small package that is compatible with qubit chip fabrication and operation constraints without sacrificing performance. This so-called"wiring challenge"is likely to impact the development of more powerful quantum computers even in the near term. In this paper, we address the wiring challenge of trapped-ion quantum computers. We describe a control architecture called WISE (Wiring using Integrated Switching Electronics), which significantly reduces the I/O requirements of ion trap quantum computing chips without compromising performance. Our method relies on judiciously integrating simple switching electronics into the ion trap chip - in a way that is compatible with its fabrication and operation constraints - while complex electronics remain external. To demonstrate its power, we describe how the WISE architecture can be used to operate a fully connected 1000-qubit trapped ion quantum computer using ~ 200 signal sources at a speed of ~ 40 - 2600 quantum gate layers per second.