The chip, referred to as Ocelot, is a prototype that currently possesses only a small fraction of the computational power required for a functional machine. However, similar to its competitors, AWS, the cloud computing division of Amazon.com, is optimistic that it has discovered a scalable technology that can eventually lead to a working quantum computer, although no specific timeline has been provided for this achievement.
This announcement from AWS coincides with the release of a peer-reviewed article in the scientific journal Nature, amidst a surge of advancements in quantum computing from major players like Alphabet's Google, Microsoft, and the startup PsiQuantum in recent months.
Quantum computers are expected to perform calculations that would take traditional computers millions of years, potentially aiding scientists in the development of new materials, such as batteries and pharmaceuticals. However, a critical component of quantum computers, known as a qubit, is both fast and sensitive, making it susceptible to errors.
In the 1990s, researchers determined that some qubits in a quantum computer could be allocated for error correction, leading to years of exploration into how to create physical qubits that would allow for a sufficient number of "logical" qubits to perform meaningful computations.
Industry consensus has suggested that approximately one million physical qubits are necessary to produce a useful quantity of logical qubits.
However, AWS claims to have developed a prototype chip that utilizes just nine physical qubits to generate one operational logical qubit, leveraging a "cat" qubit. This term is derived from physicist Erwin Schrödinger's well-known thought experiment, which illustrates quantum mechanics principles through the paradox of a cat that is simultaneously alive and dead within a box.
Oskar Painter, the AWS director of quantum hardware, indicated that the AWS strategy might eventually lead to the development of effective computers utilizing only 100,000 qubits instead of a million.
"It should allow us to provide between five and 10 times lower numbers of physical qubits to implement the error correction in a fully scaled machine. So that's the real benefit," Painter explained to Reuters.
He noted that the current chip was built using conventional methods adapted from the semiconductor industry and a material known as tantalum. However, AWS and its collaborators aim to further refine these techniques.
"That's where I think there's going to be a huge amount of innovation and that will be the thing that could really reel in timelines for development. If we make improvements at the materials and processing level, this will make the underlying technology just much simpler," Painter remarked.