qubits

The Quantum Instrumentation Control Kit now features updated software and firmware and new companion hardware called QICK box. This Fermilab-developed system combines everything a scientist might need to conduct mind-bending research in a pizza-box-sized case.

Fermilab has twin laboratories that will probe superconducting qubits: QUIET is a new detector 100 meters underground and its counterpart is on the surface called LOUD, which began operations in 2022. The differences between the two detectors’ observations will allow researchers to assess how cosmic radiation affects qubit performance.

The new state-of-the-art QUIET laboratory will study the performance of qubits isolated from cosmic radiation. Its above ground counterpart is LOUD and together they will enable controlled experiments of quantum sensors.

Through unique qubit fabrication techniques, scientists have demonstrated systematic improvements in the performance of superconducting devices for quantum computing, communication, and sensing.

From Phys.org, July 5, 2023: Researchers from Ames Laboratory announced important research results done with Fermilab’s SQMS Center that will improve the quantum circuit quality of a vital qubit component. The research was an important step in quantum computing development and proves that collaborative research groups like SQMS with Ames can lead to solving very complex technological and scientific problems.

SQMS Center researchers have identified a new contribution to a qubit’s performance by probing and simulating several-atom-thick layers called silicides.

From Nasdaq, Dec. 15, 2022: Quantum computing can perform calculations in ways that are impossible for classical computers. It was recently announced that Google’s Sycamore quantum processor was used by researchers from Caltech, Google, Fermilab, MIT and Harvard to generate and control what is equivalent to an Einstein-Rosen bridge, or more commonly referred to as a wormhole.

To cool quantum computing components, researchers use machines called dilution refrigerators. Researchers and engineers from the SQMS Center are building Colossus, the largest, most powerful refrigerator at millikelvin temperatures ever made. The new machine will enable new physics and quantum computing experiments.

From the New York Times, Nov. 30, 2022: Yesterday, a science team led by Cal Tech announced they had simulated a pair of black holes in a quantum computer and sent a message between them through a shortcut in space-time called a wormhole. Fermilab’s Joe Lykken co-authored the paper published in Nature yesterday and provides details on what the team uncovered.

SQMS Center researchers have fabricated quantum devices to evaluate the effect of different materials on qubit performance, thanks to proximity to the Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility.