Implementation of a 25-Qubit System for Analog Quantum Computing

Quantum annealing, and more generalized extensions, have long been studied as a potential route to achieving quantum speedup, particularly in classes of problems relating to optimization and sampling. Experimental advancements in this area, however, have been limited in part by the small number of available systems which allow exploration of novel algorithms and control paradigms. In particular, though there exist commercial systems with several thousand annealing qubits, the control mechanisms used in these systems necessitate a restricted set of annealing schedules.

In this talk we will provide an overview of the recent advancements and implementation of a highly controllable 25-qubit testbed system with enhanced qubit coherence. This system employs an unprecedented degree of both spatial and temporal control of individual elements of the system, which enables operations beyond the traditional definition of ‘annealing’. We will provide an overview of the design, control and operation philosophies of this system, as well as characterizations from initial experiments demonstrating its capabilities. Lastly, we will discuss potential methods of utilizing this framework in future application-scale systems.