Fujitsu and RIKEN chose Keysight Technologies’ Quantum Control System (QCS) as the control system embedded within their recently developed 256-qubit quantum computer at the RIKEN RQC-FUJITSU Collaboration Center in Japan. This marks a pioneering step in the industry’s pursuit of a fault tolerant quantum computer.
The integration of diverse specialised processors such as graphics processing units (GPUs), tensor processing units (TPUs), and now quantum processing units (QPUs), is crucial for the next era of advanced scientific computing and algorithmic exploration.
Realising the full potential of QPUs in hybrid computing environments necessitates significant progress in scaling-up numbers of qubits and reducing error rates.
Keysight’s involvement in this 256-qubit quantum computer positions the company to support Fujitsu and RIKEN in driving critical innovations in these key areas.
Quantum control systems are fundamental to the operation of any quantum computer, and are essential for scaling up quantum computing, as they need to be able to handle a large number of qubits and ensure smooth integration with quantum processors.
They serve as the interface between classical and quantum worlds, translating user commands into precise operations executed by the quantum processor. Simultaneously, they interpret the subtle changes in signals that reveal qubit state information.
Keysight QCS does this by generating and modulating radiofrequency (RF) signals and microwave pulses that interact with qubits and control their evolution.
These signals are used to prepare qubits in specific states and perform quantum gates to enable the execution of quantum algorithms and experiments, and read out their final states for feedback and optimization.
Precise control techniques and improved physical isolation of qubits, ensure the fidelity of quantum computations.
Dedicated hardware and software allows users to program experiments at the level of their quantum system, rather than worrying about low-level control of classical signals.
Keysight’s QCS does this with direct digital conversion (DDC) for microwave signals to eliminate common sources of drift and prevent the need for frequent recalibration; a complete software stack that allows users to program experiments at the level of their quantum system rather than worry about classical channels; a simple-to-use Python API to enable powerful and flexible FPGA-based features without requiring specialized hardware programming; and a modular architecture to seamlessly scale as quantum systems grow.
Keysight’s QCS was a natural fit for the RIKEN RQC-FUJITSU Collaboration Center due to its modularity, scalability, and market leading radio frequency (RF) performance.
Since its introduction in February 2023, Keysight’s QCS has been adopted in academia, national laboratories, commercial companies, and innovative startups throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia Pacific region.
