Amazon Unveils Its First Quantum Computing Chip (aboutamazon.com) 5
Amazon has introduced its first-ever quantum processor, dubbed Ocelot, designed specifically to reduce quantum error correction costs by up to 90% compared to existing approaches. The prototype chip uses "cat qubits" -- named after Schrodinger's cat thought experiment -- which intrinsically suppress certain types of quantum errors.
Unlike conventional approaches that add error correction after designing the architecture, AWS built Ocelot with quantum error correction as the primary requirement. The chip consists of two stacked 1cm2 silicon microchips containing 14 core components: five data qubits, five buffer circuits for stabilization, and four qubits dedicated to error detection.
Quantum computers are notoriously sensitive to environmental noise -- including vibrations, heat, and electromagnetic interference -- which disturbs qubits and generates computational errors. These errors multiply as quantum systems scale up, creating a significant barrier to practical quantum computing. Ocelot's high-quality oscillators, made from a thin film of superconducting Tantalum processed using specialized techniques developed by AWS material scientists, generate the repetitive electrical signals that maintain quantum states.
"We're just getting started and we believe we have several more stages of scaling to go through," said Oskar Painter, AWS director of Quantum Hardware, whose team published their findings in Nature. Industry analyst Heather West of IDC was more measured, categorizing Ocelot as "much more of an advancement and less of a breakthrough," noting that superconducting qubits designed to resist certain error types aren't completely novel.
Unlike conventional approaches that add error correction after designing the architecture, AWS built Ocelot with quantum error correction as the primary requirement. The chip consists of two stacked 1cm2 silicon microchips containing 14 core components: five data qubits, five buffer circuits for stabilization, and four qubits dedicated to error detection.
Quantum computers are notoriously sensitive to environmental noise -- including vibrations, heat, and electromagnetic interference -- which disturbs qubits and generates computational errors. These errors multiply as quantum systems scale up, creating a significant barrier to practical quantum computing. Ocelot's high-quality oscillators, made from a thin film of superconducting Tantalum processed using specialized techniques developed by AWS material scientists, generate the repetitive electrical signals that maintain quantum states.
"We're just getting started and we believe we have several more stages of scaling to go through," said Oskar Painter, AWS director of Quantum Hardware, whose team published their findings in Nature. Industry analyst Heather West of IDC was more measured, categorizing Ocelot as "much more of an advancement and less of a breakthrough," noting that superconducting qubits designed to resist certain error types aren't completely novel.
WE'RE JUST GETTING STARTED (Score:2)
Amazon says: ...
> We're just getting started
Yeah, these emperor's clothes are going where Blue Origin went before. An idiot in a cowboy hat went almost to space.
Please don't repost PR unless there's something real there.
Amazon has a website that sells sewing kits and sweaters and use to claim to sell books.
No "QuantuM" (90's term) here. No AI (2020s term) here. No buzzwords with reality, but maybe the stock will go up.
Stop hyping nonexistent crap.
Great, more bullshit (Score:2)
QCs are a resounding failure at this time. Grande promises for now something like 40 years, no delivery. Oh, and fake or meaningless claims of "Quantum supremacy". This is just another "constant delivery scam", where success is claimed time and again, while nothing like that is true. Yes, we may eventually get QCs that are actually useful for something. Or not. But it will not happen anytime soon.
vs Majorama (Score:5, Interesting)
Sounds like an announcement did to create the illusion of competition against the announcement of Microsoft's Majorama quantum chip.
If Microsoft hasn't hyped/lied about his chip, it's a breakthrough in how the quantum processors can be built.
I guess Amazon needs to announce something to say that they aren't behind.
AWS materials scientists (Score:2)
If you want to be taken seriously in the quantum computing space, a good first step would be to put it in a separate org from your cloud software division.
I mean, I'm sure they're real experts in the field, but there's something terribly unserious about being an "Amazon Web Services material scientist"