Demonstration of the trapped-ion quantum-CCD computer architecture

Abstract

The trapped-ion QCCD (quantum charge-coupled device) architecture proposal lays out a blueprint for a universal quantum computer. The design begins with electrodes patterned on a two-dimensional surface configured to trap multiple arrays of ions (or ion crystals). Communication within the ion crystal network allows for the machine to be scaled while keeping the number of ions in each crystal to a small number, thereby preserving the low error rates demonstrated in trapped-ion experiments. By proposing to communicate quantum information by moving the ions through space to interact with other distant ions, the architecture creates a quantum computer endowed with full-connectivity. However, engineering this fully-connected computer introduces a host of difficulties that have precluded the architecture from being fully realized in the twenty years since its proposal. Using a Honeywell cryogenic surface trap, we report on the integration of all necessary ingredients of the QCCD architecture into a programmable trapped-ion quantum computer. Using four and six qubit circuits, the system level performance of the processor is quantified by the fidelity of a teleported CNOT gate utilizing mid-circuit measurement and a quantum volume measurement of $2^6=64$. By demonstrating that the low error rates achievable in small ion crystals can be successfully integrated with a scalable trap design, parallel optical delivery, and fast ion transport, the QCCD architecture is shown to be a viable path toward large quantum computers. Atomic ions provide perfectly identical, high-fidelity qubits. Our work shows that the QCCD architecture built around these qubits will provide high performance quantum computers, likely enabling important near-term demonstrations such as quantum error correction and quantum advantage.