STTR Phase I:Dramatically improving algorithm execution on quantum devices through advanced noise-awareness and control

The broader impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will be to enable much more widespread use of quantum computing. Quantum computing will drive massive improvements in the world economy and the human condition in areas as diverse as drug discovery, novel materials, energy efficiency, and artificial intelligence. Industry analysts project rapid growth for the quantum computing/networking market: $5B in 2022, $24B in 2026, $270B in 2030.

In terms of technological progress, this project will increase our knowledge of how to use the quantum properties of matter as a powerful new way to compute. In addition to commercial potential and scientific knowledge, the vision is that this work will also help catalyze a new generation of “quantum first” software developers, and this will be critical in maintaining our nation’s competitiveness in the 21st century.

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project seeks to address a key challenge facing the current generation of quantum computers: execution quality. Each operation on a quantum computer incurs some error due to various types of noise that are present in and around these delicate systems. These errors accumulate, and this limits the size of program that can be successfully run.

This in turn dramatically reduces the already limited set of problems that can be solved on a quantum computer. While noise characteristics of a quantum device are defined by the underlying hardware technology and device architecture, there are ways to improve execution quality through software by identifying or estimating errors and compensating for them.

In fact, there is evidence from the literature that such improvements can improve fidelity of the execution by 10 times or more. In this project, a quantum compiler & circuit optimizer software product is developed that will incorporate known optimization methods, quantum error correction techniques, plus develop new approaches. The resulting software will match a quantum program with the quantum computer that will provide the best execution.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.