Quantum computing startup Nord Quantique Inc. today revealed promising results from its latest research paper demonstrating quantum error correction to improve qubit coherence lifetime at the individual qubit level.

The company claims the ability is a world-first. Quantum error correction to improve qubit coherence lifetime at the individual qubit level uses techniques designed to protect quantum information stored in qubits from errors — which can occur from decoherence and other quantum noise — without necessitating a significant increase in the number of physical qubits.

Improving qubit coherence lifetime at the individual qubit level through quantum error correction directly impacts the feasibility and practicality of quantum computing, the next big thing when it comes to future computer development. Quantum computers are advanced computing systems that leverage quantum mechanics to process information at unprecedented speeds. The technology promises to solve complex problems that are currently infeasible for classical computers.

Nord Quantique’s demonstrated quantum error correction has achieved an increase of 14% in the lifetime of a single qubit without using the brute-force redundancy of additional physical qubits. Simulations run by the company show that these results can be reproduced with additional qubits and that there is likely to be significant, further improvement in error correction as the number of qubits increases.

The process involves applying GKP bosonic codes, a type of quantum error correction code that uses the properties of bosonic systems for error correction at the individual qubit level. Nord Quantique has demonstrated the ability to correct both bit-flips and phase-flips, the most common types of errors in quantum computing, making error correction much easier to manage with fewer physical qubits than other computing models. 

The net result is that Nord Quantique’s quantum computers function with far fewer resources dedicated to error correction, requiring only hundreds of qubits to deliver fault-tolerant quantum computing instead of millions. Being able to do so makes the path to scaling the hardware up to levels useful for industrial partners a much shorter one. As a next step, the company plans to unveil results from a multi-qubit system later this year.

“After years of diligent work, this demonstration marks the first major milestone on our journey to error-corrected, fault-tolerant quantum computing,” said Julien Camirand Lemyre, president and chief technology officer at Nord Quantique. “Our model incorporates redundancy into every logical qubit, drastically reducing the number of physical qubits required for error correction once scaled.”

Camirand Lemyre added that the finding positions Nord Quantique “to develop highly efficient and scalable quantum computers, without the need for vast amounts of physical qubits devoted to error correction, and potentially reaching fault-tolerance in a shorter time.”

Image: Nord Quantique