Research & Development World

  • Home Page
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Archeology
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Chemistry
    • COVID-19
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Market Pulse
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
      • Software
    • Semiconductors
  • 2021 R&D 100 Award Winners
    • R&D 100 Awards
    • 2020 Winners
    • Winner Archive
  • Resources
    • Digital Issues
    • Podcasts
    • Subscribe
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Webinars

Rare open-access quantum computer now operational

By Heather Hall | March 16, 2021

By Troy Rummler

Sandia National Laboratories physicist Susan Clark leads the team that built the Quantum Scientific Computing Open User Testbed. The ion-based quantum computer was made for outside researchers to use. (Photo by Bret Latter)

A new Department of Energy open-access quantum computing testbed is ready for the public. Scientists from Indiana University recently became the first team to begin using Sandia National Laboratories’ Quantum Scientific Computing Open User Testbed, or QSCOUT.

Quantum computers are poised to become major technological drivers over the coming decades. But to get there, scientists need to experiment with quantum machines that relatively few universities or companies have. Now, scientists can use Sandia’s QSCOUT for research that might not be possible at their home institutions, without the cost or restrictions of using a commercial testbed.

“QSCOUT serves a need in the quantum community by giving users the controls to study the machine itself, which aren’t yet available in commercial quantum computing systems. It also saves theorists and scientists from the trouble of building their own machines. We hope to gain new insights into quantum performance and architecture as well as solve problems that require quantum computation,” said Sandia physicist and QSCOUT lead Susan Clark.

She said the new testbed is a rare machine in three ways: first, as a free, open-access testbed; second, as one made with trapped ion technology; and third, as a platform that gives users an uncommon amount of control over their research.

Last month, Sandia began running the testbed’s first user experiment for scientists from Indiana University. Researchers from IBM, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the University of New Mexico and the University of California, Berkeley, have also been selected to begin experiments soon. Their projects range from testing benchmarking techniques to developing algorithms that could someday solve problems in chemistry too complex for normal computers.

Researchers interested in using the Quantum Scientific Computing Open User Testbed are invited to sign up for notifications by emailing qscout@sandia.gov. Sandia expects to select the next round of projects in the spring, subject to change.

Sandia soliciting proposals

Now, Sandia is getting ready for more research proposals. Anyone can submit a proposal to use QSCOUT, and computing time is free thanks to funding from the DOE Office of Science, Advanced Scientific Computing Research program. The next group of projects is expected to be selected in the spring.

On top of providing an exceptional research opportunity, QSCOUT has a rare design for a testbed. Most commercial testbeds use technology called superconducting circuits. Such machines need to be kept at ultralow temperatures, making them expensive to build and operate. But Sandia’s testbed uses what is called an ion trap instead. This means Sandia’s testbed can run at warmer temperatures. Trapped ions also yield clearer signals than circuits and hold on to information longer, enabling scientists to perform different types of experiments and compare the two platforms.

Trapped ions are held inside QSCOUT in a so-called “trap on a chip,” a flat, bow tie-shaped device, about 2 cm (0.8 in.) long, overlaid on a semiconductor chip. Three electrically charged atoms of the element ytterbium are suspended in place by radio waves and an electric field above a hairline channel that runs down the center of the device. Lasers encode information in each ion as a qubit, comparable to a bit in a conventional computer, to perform calculations.

Sandia plans to expand the system from three to 32 qubits over the next three years so scientists can perform more sophisticated tests.

QSCOUT resides at Sandia’s Microsystems Engineering, Science, and Applications complex, which also produces microelectronics for the nation’s nuclear stockpile.

 

Comments

  1. Alex Chen says

    March 17, 2021 at 6:39 pm

    I am very excited about this news. I wish I could tried it.

    Reply
    • Maximus Seneca says

      April 13, 2021 at 12:38 pm

      I am in if it can run entire pharmacokinesis of a drug moiety

      Reply
  2. Kirt Jensen says

    March 17, 2021 at 7:44 pm

    They should have a contest, who can make the best use of three bits.

    Reply

Tell Us What You Think! Cancel reply

Related Articles Read More >

Multiverse Computing announces quantum digital twin initiative with Bosch Group
Frontier supercomputer debuts as world’s fastest, breaking exascale barrier
R&D 100 winner of the day: Mochi: Customizable Data Navigation Tool
Siemens collaborates with Pasqal to research quantum applications in computer aided engineering, simulation and testing
2021 R&D Global Funding Forecast

Need R&D World news in a minute?

We Deliver!
R&D World Enewsletters get you caught up on all the mission critical news you need in research and development. Sign up today.
Enews Signup

R&D World Digital Issues

February 2020 issue

Browse the most current issue of R&D World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Clip, share and download with the leading R& magazine today.

Research & Development World
  • Subscribe to R&D World Magazine
  • Enews Sign Up
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing
  • 2022 Global Funding Forecast

Copyright © 2022 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search R&D World

  • Home Page
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Archeology
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Chemistry
    • COVID-19
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Market Pulse
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
      • Software
    • Semiconductors
  • 2021 R&D 100 Award Winners
    • R&D 100 Awards
    • 2020 Winners
    • Winner Archive
  • Resources
    • Digital Issues
    • Podcasts
    • Subscribe
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Webinars