Quartet is trapped-ion quantum computer which shuns laser control in favour of electronic control fro its qubits.
“This approach has yielded the highest performing quantum platform in the world, with Oxford Ionics holding the record for two-qubit gate fidelity, single-qubit gate fidelity, and ‘quantum state preparation and measurement’”, according to the company. “Everything required to trap and control qubits is integrated onto a standard electronic chip manufactured via standard semiconductor foundries.”
The installed system is field-upgradeable by swapping out the credit-card sized ‘quantum processor unit’, without changing any of the surrounding infrastructure.
Oxford Ionics and the NQCC will use Quartet, upgraded with ‘2D qubit connectivity’, on the UK’s Quantum Missions programme which seeks to remove barriers to large-scale commercialisation or quantum computers. Riverlane and Bay Photonics are also part of this programme.
Oxford Ionics was founded in 2019 by Tom Harty and Chris Ballance, who have both made quantum breakthroughs. Its team includes 90 physics, quantum architecture, engineering and software speciallists, and the company said that it will triple head-count over the next 18 months. So far it has raised £37m. As well as NQCC, the company has sold a quantum computer to Germany’s Cyberagentur.
In June, IonQ announced plans to buy Oxford Ionics for $1bn.
The NQCC is the UK’s national laboratory for quantum computing. Quartet is at its Harwell campus.
