橡树岭国家实验室（ORNL）现拥有一套用于量子纠错研究的系统，将IBM量子处理器与基于AMD芯片的高性能计算（HPC）系统相结合。橡树岭国家实验室的量子科学中心（QSC）由美国能源部（DoE）资助，推出了其所谓的量子纠错协同设计平台，将量子与HPC技术融合。据橡树岭国家实验室称，虽然实用的、容错的量子系统似乎总是至少还要十年才能实现，但过去几年量子纠错领域已取得显著进展。
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) now boasts a system for research into quantum error correction, combining IBM quantum processors with a high-performance compute (HPC) system based on AMD silicon. The Quantum Science Center (QSC) at ORNL, funded by the US Department of Energy (DoE), unveiled what it calls a co-design platform for quantum error correction, marrying up quantum and HPC technology. While useful, fault-tolerant quantum systems always seem to be at least a decade away, there have been notable advances over the past several years in the field of quantum error correction, according to ORNL.
这些进展包括早期演示了保护量子信息免受环境噪声干扰，环境噪声会导致计算所需的脆弱量子态丢失。“解决量子纠错的挑战对于使量子计算成为科学发现的实用工具至关重要，这是橡树岭国家实验室的优先事项，”QSC主任Travis Humble表示。IBM资深研究员兼IBM研究院院长Jay Gambetta表示，问题不再在于纠错是否有效，而在于如何加速和优化纠错，以构建科学家可用来攻克难题的系统。
These include early demonstrations of protecting quantum information from environmental noise, which can cause loss of the fragile quantum states needed for computations. "Solving the challenges of quantum error correction is essential to making quantum computing a practical tool for scientific discovery, which is a priority for Oak Ridge National Laboratory," said QSC director Travis Humble. IBM Fellow and director of IBM Research Jay Gambetta said that it was no longer a question of whether error correction works, but how to accelerate and optimize error correction to build systems that scientists can use to tackle challenging problems.
“这个新的量子纠错协同设计平台让我们能够评估不同方法，并确定将能够扩展的架构、软件和工作流，”他指出。橡树岭国家实验室的新工具结合了配备最新120量子比特Nighthawk r2量子处理器的IBM Quantum System Two，以及Umbra——一套由AMD第五代Epyc CPU和Instinct MI355X GPU加速器驱动的经典HPC系统。据AMD介绍，CPU提供协调所需的编排和通用性能，而GPU则加速围绕量子工作负载的模拟、优化和并行科学计算。
"This new co-design platform for quantum error correction allows us to evaluate different approaches and determine the architectures, software and workflows that will scale," he stated. ORNL's new tool combines an IBM Quantum System Two, equipped with the latest 120-qubit Nighthawk r2 quantum processors, and Umbra, a classical HPC system powered by AMD 5th Gen Epyc CPUs and Instinct MI355X GPU accelerators. According to AMD, the CPUs provide the orchestration and general-purpose performance needed to coordinate everything, while the GPUs accelerate simulation, optimization and the parallel scientific computations surrounding quantum workloads.
该系统还包括 AMD Versal SoC，用于为量子电路提供低延迟控制、读出和解码能力。ORNL 表示，这将量子纠错所需的计算基础设施整合在一个环境中，并向比以往更多的研究人员开放。他们将利用它在一个为量子为中心的超级计算而构建的环境中开发和验证量子算法、工作流和应用，这是一种新兴范式，其中量子处理器（QPU）、CPU 和 GPU 作为一个系统协同工作。
Also part of the system are AMD Versal SoCs to provide the low-latency control, readout and decoding capabilities for the quantum circuitry. ORNL says that this brings together the computing infrastructure needed for quantum error correction in a single environment, and opens it up to more researchers than ever before. They will use it to develop and validate quantum algorithms, workflows, and applications in an environment built for quantum-centric supercomputing, an emerging paradigm where quantum processors (QPUs), CPUs, and GPUs work together as one system.
IBM 表示，该协同设计平台可探索的一个有前景的方法是分层纠错。它将其描述为：使用内层码保护模块内的量子比特，而外层码则包裹在内层码的逻辑量子比特周围，增加第二层保护。IBM 研究表明，这种方法在物理错误率为千分之一的情况下，可实现万亿次逻辑运算。公司声称，这些分层码依赖于强大的经典计算能力，而协同设计平台将为研究人员提供一个场所，让他们在低延迟环境中利用 GPU 测试和开发这些想法。
IBM says that one promising approach the co-design platform cloud explore is hierarchical error correction. It describes this as using an inner code to protect qubits within a module, while an outer code wraps around the inner code’s logical qubits and adds a second layer of protection. This approach could reach a trillion logical operations at a physical error rate of one in a thousand, IBM research suggested. These hierarchical codes rely on having powerful classical compute, and the co-design platform will give researchers a place to test and develop those ideas with GPUs in a low-latency environment, the firm states.
协同设计平台很可能在能源部的“量子起源任务”目标中发挥关键作用。这些目标包括最近宣布的 Q Competition，这是一项旨在交付一个拥有 100 个逻辑量子比特、能够执行数亿次容错操作的系统的计划。这紧随特朗普总统签署的一项行政命令，该命令要求到 2028 年开发出全功能的量子系统。®
The co-design platform is likely to play a key part in the DoE’s Quantum Genesis Mission objectives. These include the recently announced Q Competition, an initiative to deliver a system with 100 logical qubits capable of performing hundreds of millions of fault-tolerant operations. It follows an executive order from President Trump to develop a full-blown quantum system by 2028.®