Category: Quantum Computing

“Sandwich” structure found to reduce errors caused by quasiparticles in superconducting qubits

Qubits are notoriously more prone to error than their classical counterparts. While superconducting quantum computers currently use on the order of 100 to 1000 qubits, an estimated one million qubits will be needed to track and correct errors in a quantum computer designed for real-world applications. At present, it is not known how to scale …

Partnerships bring together UW–Madison quantum computing research, industry leaders

Two leading companies in semiconductor quantum computing are partnering with researchers at the University of Wisconsin­–Madison, itself a long-time academic leader in quantum computing. UW–Madison’s separate partnerships with Intel and HRL Laboratories are part of a first round of collaborations announced June 14 by the LPS Qubit Collaboratory (LQC), a national Quantum Information Science Research Center hosted at …

Finding some wiggle room in semiconductor quantum computers

Classical computers rarely make mistakes, thanks largely to the digital behavior of semiconductor transistors. They are either on or they’re off, corresponding to the ones and zeros of classical bits. On the other hand, quantum bits, or qubits, can equal zero, one or an arbitrary mixture of the two, allowing quantum computers to solve certain …

Welcome, Roman Kuzmin, the Dunson Cheng Assistant Professor of Physics

In the modern, cutting-edge field of quantum computing, it can be a bit puzzling to hear a researcher relate their work to low-tech slide rules. Yet that is exactly the analogy that Roman Kuzmin uses to describe one of his research goals, creating quantum simulators to model various materials. He also studies superconducting qubits and …

Cross-institutional collaboration leads to new control over quantum dot qubits

This story was originally published by the Chicago Quantum Exchange Qubits are the building blocks of quantum computers, which have the potential to revolutionize many fields of research by solving problems that classical computers can’t. But creating qubits that have the perfect quality necessary for quantum computing can be challenging. Researchers at the University of …

Mark Saffman named WARF professor

This post is adapted from the original Thirty-two members of the University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty — including physics professor Mark Saffman — have been awarded fellowships from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education for 2022-23. The awardees span the four divisions on campus: arts and humanities, physical sciences, social sciences …

UW–Madison, industry partners run quantum algorithm on neutral atom quantum computer for the first time

A university-industry collaboration has successfully run a quantum algorithm on a type of quantum computer known as a cold atom quantum computer for the first time. The achievement by the team of scientists from the University of Wisconsin­–Madison, ColdQuanta and Riverlane brings quantum computing one step closer to being used in real-world applications. The work …

New 3D integrated semiconductor qubit saves space without sacrificing performance

Small but mighty, semiconducting qubits are a promising area of research on the road to a fully functional quantum computer. Less than one square micron, thousands of these qubits could fit into the space taken up by one of the current industry-leading superconducting qubit platforms, such as IBM’s or Google’s. For a quantum computer on …

Correlated errors in quantum computers emphasize need for design changes

Quantum computers could outperform classical computers at many tasks, but only if the errors that are an inevitable part of computational tasks are isolated rather than widespread events. Now, researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have found evidence that errors are correlated across an entire superconducting quantum computing chip — highlighting a problem that must …

Welcome, incoming MSPQC students! 

The UW–Madison Physics Department is pleased to welcome 18 students to the M.S. in Physics – Quantum Computing program. These students make up the third cohort to begin the program and are the largest entering class to date.   “We are really pleased and proud that the MSPQC program continues to grow and prosper in its …