Photonic announces breakthrough in quantum error correction
The Canada-based start-up has published a paper demonstrating a technique that could enable quantum algorithms to run on up to 20x fewer physical qubits than in traditional error-correction techniques, accelerating the timeline to useful quantum computing
Quantum computing start-up Photonic has announced breakthrough results in error correction, which it describes as an industry first that will accelerate the timeline to useful quantum computing. The company has introduced a new, low-overhead family of Quantum Low-Density Parity Check (QLDPC) codes, which it says can efficiently perform both quantum computation and error correction, using materially fewer quantum bits (qubits) than traditional surface code approaches.
“Unlocking the quantum logic of high-performance QLDPC codes has been the holy grail of quantum error correction R&D for decades, and one of the obstacles to cost-effective quantum computing at scale,” said Stephanie Simmons, chief quantum officer at Photonic. “Today we’re announcing that we have cracked these codes. Today we’re launching fast and lean QLDPC codes, called SHYPS codes, that can run all quantum algorithms using up to 20x fewer physical qubits compared to the traditional approaches to error correction. We’re excited to share these milestone results which have moved the goalposts for useful quantum computing 20x closer.”
Quantum computers require error correction to realise the promised exponential speedups over known classical approaches for key computational challenges. Using surface code for error-correction introduces enormous overhead requirements for systems at scale – millions of physical qubits are needed to collectively act as the thousands of logical qubits required for impactful applications. These assumptions have contributed to 30+ year projections of when quantum will become “real” in the market.
According to Photonic, QLDPC codes were introduced 20 years ago and provide a promising alternative to reduce overheads by 10-100x. However, there was one catch; the ability to perform quantum logic using QLDPC codes first had to be unlocked, a challenge that researchers have spent over a decade tackling.
Photonic says its new paper, “Computing Efficiently in QLDPC Codes,” is the first to demonstrate how to compute using SHYPS QLDPC codes. This breakthrough simultaneously delivers the efficiency gains promised by QLDPC codes and removes a key barrier to commercially useful quantum applications, the company adds.
“This is a truly major milestone,” said David Shaw, lead analyst at Global Quantum Intelligence. “The quantum field must now be divided into those whose hardware can run these new codes, and those who can’t. We’re going to see a race between players that invest in the scarce skills required for in-house code innovation, and those that seek to be fast followers. Implementing logic always looked like the hard part of standing-up better codes. This new work has knocked it out of the park.”
According to Photonic, this fast and lean, patent-pending QLDPC code family has specific hardware requirements for implementation that not every approach to quantum computing can deliver. The start-up says its Entanglement First architecture provides the high levels of connectivity needed to realise the benefits of QLDPC codes. These codes have been stress tested in the most complete simulations known to date, demonstrating that the logic works in practice, not just in theory, and the approach is implementable on distributed systems, working both within and between modules, the company adds.
