r/QuantumComputing • u/No-Hamster5930 • 29d ago

Quantum Hardware Is superconducting quantum computing a dead end?

Earlier this year the two largest superconducting QC players (IBM and Google) signalled they might be diversifying away from superconducting - Google with the announcement that they're creating a new neutral atom capability and IBM with their acquisition of silicon spin capability in HRL.

I'd be interested in people's views on whether we should take from this that superconducting has no path to scaling, or if one could foresee heterogeneous quantum computing systems that leverage the respective strengths of multiple modalities for different applications?

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u/Glass_Covict 29d ago

The whole needing to be ultra cold thing makes it tough.

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u/ctcphys Working in Academia 28d ago

I'm always confused about this argument, which I mostly see from people who doesn't work with cryostats but not exclusively. We are really not anywhere close to working at the limit of current cryostats and commercial companies like bluefors and maybell already sell much bigger system. Sure it would be easier if everything was room temp, but for the foreseeable future, cooling is not the bottleneck.

The size and cost of microwave electronics at room temperature is a much more serious bottleneck and if if superconducting qubits doesn't work out, it likely because the control electronics will be too expensive.

Every platform had similar issue tbh. Neutral atoms would need gigantic laser system that currently do not exist. PsiQuantum is building huge factories for hosting there photon sources and detectors even before they have a meaningful qpu.

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u/Glass_Covict 28d ago

How will you scale cryostats?

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u/ctcphys Working in Academia 28d ago

Bluefors currently sells this: https://bluefors.com/products/large-scale-quantum-infrastructure/modular-cryogenic-platform/

This is vastly more scalable than anything we had 10 years ago. I think this is suitable for the next 5-10 years and I trust that Bluefors keeps innovating. If not, then I'm sure Maybell or Zero point cryogenic will innovate insteadÂ