neutral-atom quantum computing vendor Pasqal has announced a significant technological milestone: the successful loading of over 1 000 atoms in a single shot within their quantum computing setup.
This breakthrough marks a crucial step in Pasqal’s progress towards quantum advantage and scalable quantum processors.
In a major technological advancement for the quantum computing industry, Pasqal has trapped more than 1 110 atoms within approximately 2 000 traps, demonstrating the feasibility of large-scale neutral atom quantum computing.
In Pasqal’s quantum computing architecture, these atoms are confined and manipulated using electromagnetic fields. The internal energy states of these atoms serve as the quantum states of the qubits, which are manipulated to perform quantum operations and execute quantum algorithms.
This successful trapping of single rubidium atoms in large arrays of optical tweezers, comprises up to 2 088 sites, within a cryogenic environment at a temperature of 6K. It involves innovative optical designs that combine ultra-high-vacuum-compatible microscope objectives at room temperature with windowless thermal shields, ensuring efficient trapping at cryogenic temperatures. In an industry first, Pasqal demonstrated atom-by-atom rearrangement of an 828-atom target array using moving optical tweezers controlled by a field-programmable gate array (FPGA).
The large-scale trapping of atoms is essential for building scalable quantum processors capable of solving complex problems efficiently. As the number of qubits increases, so does the computational power and the range of problems that can be tackled using quantum algorithms. The ability to trap and manipulate over 1 000 atoms represents a significant advancement towards creating quantum processors that can address problems currently beyond the abilities of classical computers.
“Achieving the 1 000-atom milestone illustrates the great scalability of Pasqal’s quantum processors,” says Loic Henriet, co-CEO of Pasqal. “These innovative results will fuel the design of future hardware products with enhanced computational power.”