China Develops Quantum Computer ‘One Quadrillion Times More Powerful’

A research team from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) has developed a prototype superconducting quantum computer with 105 qubits and 182 connectors. The results were published in Physical Review Journals.

It is claimed that Zuchongzhi 3.0 operates one quadrillion (a number with 15 zeros) times faster than the most powerful supercomputer and a million times faster than Google’s latest results. To assess the system’s capabilities, the USTC team performed a random quantum circuit sampling task using 83 qubits and 32 layers. 

Zuchongzhi 3.0 achieves: 

• coherence time of 72 microseconds — a key parameter allowing for more complex computations;
• accuracy of parallel single-qubit operations at 99.90%;
• accuracy of parallel two-qubit operations at 99.62%;
• accuracy of parallel readout at 99.13%.

For comparison, Google’s quantum computer — Willow — also has 105 qubits and a coherence time of 68 microseconds.

The increased coherence time of Zuchongzhi 3.0 allows for more complex operations and computations.

Researchers applied a two-dimensional grid qubit architecture, ensuring efficient connections between them and enhancing data transmission speed.

In February, Amazon introduced its first chip for quantum computing.

Earlier, Microsoft announced its own solution — Majorana 1.