Quantum breakthrough: China rivals Google in stabilizing superconducting quantum systems

According to a report by the South China Morning Post, scientists at the University of Science and Technology of China have become the second team globally, after Google, to ensure the stability of quantum systems.

The developed Zuchongzhi 3.2 superconducting quantum processor successfully overcame the critical problem where the error correction process itself introduces new errors, allowing the system to operate more stably.

Qubits, the fundamental unit of information in quantum computers, serve as the equivalent of bits in traditional computers.

In the system developed by the Chinese researchers, the error correction mechanism enabled the quantum system to become more stable.

Alternative approach to Google’s method

To facilitate system scalability, the Chinese team utilized microwave control technology instead of Google’s hardware-focused methods.

The developed “distance-7” logical qubit demonstrated that the overall error rate decreased as the system expanded. This result proved that the processor was operating below the critical error threshold.

Researchers stated that this development paves the way for the construction of durable quantum computers with capacities of hundreds of thousands or even millions of qubits. Such systems aim to solve complex problems that today’s classical computers cannot handle.

The race for quantum supremacy

Google announced in 2019 that it had performed a calculation exceeding the capacity of today’s supercomputers.

According to data reported by The Financial Times, while Google’s processor completed the task in 3 minutes and 20 seconds, it was reported that Summit, the world’s most powerful traditional computer, would require approximately 10,000 years for the same operation.

While industry representatives define this situation as “quantum supremacy,” they note that these systems are currently only capable of performing limited types of calculations.

Experts emphasize that while developing full-capacity quantum machines with practical applications will still take time, these steps point to rapidly increasing processing power.