The Ez-Q Engine 2.0 superconducting quantum measurement and control system Photo: courtesy of the Anhui Quantum Computing Engineering Research Center

A Chinese firm on Monday delivered a self-developed superconducting quantum measurement and control system called ez-Q Engine 2.0 that supports 1,000-plus-qubit quantum computers, marking a crucial step in advancing large-scale quantum computing.

QuantumCTek Co, a start-up based in Hefei, East China's Anhui Province, built and upgraded a generation system based on its preceding 1.0 version, which powers the Zuchongzhi 3.0, a 105-qubit superconducting quantum processor prototype with speed gains in the quadrillions over leading supercomputers, the Global Times learned from the Anhui Quantum Computing Engineering Research Center on Monday. 

Dubbed the "nerve centers" of quantum computers, measurement and control systems manage precise signal generation, acquisition and control for quantum chips.

The new system has achieved a tenfold increase in integration compared with the previous generation. It features domestic design in key components, making it the smallest and most efficient product of its kind in China, said Tang Shibiao, director of the research center. 

The system has also overcome technical challenges such as RF direct sampling and large-scale clock synchronization, resulting in lower noise levels and improved consistency and control precision, according to Tang.

The new system has been officially delivered to several research and industrial institutions, including the University of Science and Technology of China and China Telecom Quantum Group. The research team plans to make it accessible to multiple institutions and provide more than 5,000 qubits of control services to them. This marks a significant step forward in China's efforts to develop larger-scale, error-correcting superconducting quantum computers, according to the center.

Tang said that the new control system has the potential to reshape the market landscape. "In the past, the cost of controlling a single superconducting qubit with a control system was very high. However, the ez-Q Engine 2.0 maintains international advanced technical standards while being less than half the price of similar products developed by foreign competitors," he said.

The system was also tested on the nation's record-breaking 504-qubit superconducting quantum computer, where its stability and precision were fully validated, according to Wang Zhehui, deputy director of the Anhui Quantum Computing Engineering Research Center, who also leads the research team of QuantumCTek Co.

Wang added that the research team is working on developing a new control system suitable for 10,000-qubit scales with error-correcting capabilities. "The goal is to address key technologies for quantum computing supremacy, quantum error correction, and practical quantum computing applications, further improving China's self-reliant quantum computing industry ecosystem," he said. 

Global Times