UK’s Oxford Ionics Qubits Double Quantum Chip Power

UK-based deeptech startup, Oxford Ionics has broken the record after developing a double performance power quantum chip. According to The Next Web, Oxford Ionics achieved this without error correction. The chip can be manufactured using already existing semiconductor production facilities.

Although Oxford Ionics didn’t provide the exact numbers, the University of Oxford spin-off firm said it used ten times less qubits than its competitors. The startup’s innovation set a new performance record for one and two-qubit gate operations.

Leveraging Ion-Trapped Qubits

Qubits are the basic quantum data storage units. They are made through varying systems that demonstrate quantum mechanical properties.

Oxford Ionics uses ion-trapped qubits. These are atoms that are made by removing one electron. Though ion-trapped qubits present progress towards fault-tolerant quantum computing, their scalability is limited. This is because they’re controlled through laser pulses, which increases error rates during scaling.

Oxford Ionics says it has embedded an Electronic Qubit Control (EQC) system in its quantum chip double performance power chips to fix this problem. This enables it to combine quantum performance of individual atoms with the reliability and scalability of silicon chip electronics.

Dr Chris Balance, Oxford Ionics CEO and Co-Founder said, “The industry’s biggest players have taken different paths towards the goal of making quantum computing a reality. From the outset, we have taken a ‘rocket ship’ approach — focusing on building robust technology by solving the really difficult challenges first.”

The Quantum Evolution

Quantum computing represents the next computing frontier where computers rapidly generate results by utilizing information that takes the ordinary computers years to process.

In recent years, Quantum technologies have evolved tremendously. There has been gradual accumulation of developments in these technologies from different sources. Although it’s still early to tell which advancements will be pivotal, a lot of these developments will be vital in moving quantum computing into the utility era.

Currently, private companies and research institutions are in a race to develop the first usable quantum computer. Quantum bits can only be used in highly specialized conditions. Quantum researchers must find simple ways of processing qubits to mainstream the technology.

Founded in 2019, the UK quantum chip startup says it’s on track to achieve the targets on its road map.

“We are now able to focus on the commercialisation of our technology and delivering useful quantum computing at scale,” the CEO said.

Oxford Ionics hopes that utility quantum computers will be available in three years’ time.
Recently, the deeptech startup won a $7.79 million contract to supply Quartet, a full-stack quantum computer to the National Quantum Computer Center (NQCC) in the UK. This will be the fifth quantum computer that the startup makes. The other four are physically located in its Oxford headquarters. They are accessible via the cloud.