Abstract
AbstractThe first generation of quantum computers are on the horizon, fabricated from quantum hardware platforms that may soon be able to tackle certain tasks that cannot be performed or modelled with conventional computers. These quantum devices will not likely be universal or fully programmable, but special-purpose processors whose hardware will be tightly co-designed with particular target applications. Trapped atomic ions are a leading platform for first-generation quantum computers, but they are also fundamentally scalable to more powerful general purpose devices in future generations. This is because trapped ion qubits are atomic clock standards that can be made identical to a part in 1015, and their quantum circuit connectivity can be reconfigured through the use of external fields, without modifying the arrangement or architecture of the qubits themselves. In this forward-looking overview, we show how a modular quantum computer with thousands or more qubits can be engineered from ion crystals, and how the linkage between ion trap qubits might be tailored to a variety of applications and quantum-computing protocols.
Highlights
The first generation of quantum computers are on the horizon, fabricated from quantum hardware platforms that may soon be able to tackle certain tasks that cannot be performed or modelled with conventional computers
Even in the face of Moore’s Law, or the doubling in conventional computer power every year or two, the complexity of massively entangled quantum states of just a few hundred qubits can eclipse the capacity of classical information processing.[4]
In the last few years, two particular quantum hardware platforms have emerged as the leading candidates for scaling to interesting numbers of qubits: trapped atomic ions[9,10] and superconducting circuits.[11–13]
Summary
The first generation of quantum computers are on the horizon, fabricated from quantum hardware platforms that may soon be able to tackle certain tasks that cannot be performed or modelled with conventional computers. Trapped atomic ions are a leading platform for first-generation quantum computers, but they are fundamentally scalable to more powerful general purpose devices in future generations This is because trapped ion qubits are atomic clock standards that can be made identical to a part in 1015, and their quantum circuit connectivity can be reconfigured through the use of external fields, without modifying the arrangement or architecture of the qubits themselves. We anticipate the upcoming engineering efforts on trapped atomic ions for quantum computing, and highlight their reconfigurable quantum circuit connectivity as a flexible platform to be applied to a wide range of potential quantum applications This path to scaling to thousands or more qubits will almost certainly involve the concept of architectural co-design,[14] where algorithms and applications are invented alongside the development of trapped ion hardware, and the laboratory engineers fabricate an ion trap system that is well-adapted to certain types of quantum circuit applications
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
