July 18, 2024 — The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science, Science Programs has approved IBM to join as a new partner in the Center for Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems, the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Quantum Information Science Research Center hosted at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.
SQMS is a leading national and international research center working on critical quantum technology advances, with a focus on superconducting quantum systems. This collaboration aims to leverage the strengths of these two organizations to address key challenges in quantum computing, communications, and large-scale deployment of superconducting quantum platforms.
“We welcome IBM to the SQMS collaboration, which brings together world-class experts in superconducting materials, devices and quantum systems. The collaboration leverages complementary technical capabilities and common goals to advance superconducting quantum systems towards fault-tolerant quantum computers,” said Anna Grasselino, director of the SQMS Center.
The SQMS Center brings together more than 30 partner institutions representing national laboratories, industry, and academia. This diverse collaboration brings together more than 500 experts from around the world, working together to bring transformative advances in quantum information science.
As part of the collaboration, IBM will focus on five key areas: large-scale cryogenics, noise sources in superconducting qubits, quantum interconnection, quantum computing applications for fundamental physics, and quantum workforce development.
“Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and the SQMS Center are ideally located to develop these critical technologies and produce them at scale,” said Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory Director Leah Merminga. “We have decades of experience building large, complex superconducting cryogenic systems for accelerators and deploying advanced instrumentation to advance science missions. Advancing quantum information science is a national priority, and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory is deeply committed to that advancement.”
Large-Scale Cryogenics
SQMS and IBM will collaborate to advance technologies essential for scaling quantum computing to large data centers, and SQMS has already proposed a novel solution for efficient large-scale millikelvin cryogenic processing at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.
Cryogenics developments include the world’s largest dilution refrigerator that will host a 3D superconducting radio frequency (SRF)-based quantum computing and sensing platform called Colossus. IBM will provide actionable information and specifications to expand the impact of Colossus, including the development of a large-scale cooling system based on an LHe/N2 plant suitable for IBM’s future large-scale commercial quantum computing systems.
High-quality, high-density quantum interconnects
SQMS is designing and prototyping high-quality, high-density quantum interconnects based on 3D SRF platforms for quantum computing platforms under development at Fermilab. These developments are also applicable for scaling up chip-based modular systems. Fermilab and IBM aim to investigate the feasibility and utility of quantum links as part of commercial quantum systems, with a focus on high-quality microwave cables.
Qubit and Processor Noise Reduction
As part of the SQMS Center, IBM and SQMS partners will work together to improve scientific understanding of the mechanisms that limit the performance of superconducting qubits and to develop practical schemes for mitigating so-called “1/f flux noise.”
Developing scientific applications of quantum computing systems
SQMS partners and IBM plan to advance research into physics-based applications of quantum computing systems. For example, in condensed matter physics, researchers aim to explore using IBM’s utility-scale processors to support quantum many-body dynamics simulations whose complexity approaches the quantum advantage regime. In high-energy physics, the partners will explore simulations of lattice quantum field theory.
Quantum Human Resource Development Program
SQMS has established several successful workforce development programs to attract and develop the next generation of diverse quantum talent, including the National School of Quantum Information Science, which is shared with four other U.S. Department of Energy-funded National Quantum Information Science Research Centers (NQISRCs). IBM has a robust quantum education program that has supported millions of learners around the world and has provided industry and domain expertise to Fortune 500 companies, universities, research institutes and startups in the IBM Quantum Network by providing quantum workforce development tools. SQMS and IBM plan to collaborate to strengthen the national quantum workforce development program.
Colossus provides five cubic meters of space and cools components to about 0.01 K. Photo by Ryan Postel, Fermilab.
“As we accelerate toward building large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers, we need to solve and scale complex challenges like efficient large-scale cooling and dense, low-loss quantum interconnects, as well as better understand noise sources and how to reduce them,” said Jay Gambetta, IBM Fellow and vice president, IBM Quantum. “Our plans to participate in the SQMS Center’s research are a pillar of advancing our roadmap toward large-scale quantum computing. In addition to collaborating to break down quantum hardware barriers, IBM and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory plan to work together to advance the scientific applications of quantum computing and build a quantum-ready workforce.”
The start of the collaboration is pending final approval of a legal agreement between IBM and Fermi Research Alliance, LLC.
Source: Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
