Technology attributes
Companies and research institutes are develeoping quantum computing hardware based on various technologies including superconducting, quantum-dot, trapped-ion, photonic, and neutral-atom approaches. Each has different strengthes and weaknesses for the production of a quantum computer. For any approach to be viable it has to be scalable and allow for high-fidelity quantum logic operations.
Arrays of isolated neutral atoms show promise for quantum computing due to neutral-atom qubits being well isolated from environmental noise and being highly controllable with the potential for such systems to be scaled up to large numbers of qubits. Neutral-atom qubits require ultracold temperatures and extremely high vacuums to function, and therefore require complicated apparatus; ordering them into arrays using optical techniques adds an extra level of practical complexity.
From a fundamental perspective the prospects for scaling neutral-atom systems are particularly promising due to the large ratio between coherent and incoherent coupling rates. However a complete set of universal gate operations based on neutral-atom qubits has not been demonstrated with high fidelity. Single-qubit gates in large 2D and 3D arrays have reached fidelity F∼0.999. However, the highest demonstrated fidelity for two-qubit entanglement mediated by Rydberg-state interactions is F<0.8.
Researchers believe combining improved laser sources with reduced noise, better cooling to reduce motional dephasing, and control of stray electric fields that perturb Rydberg atoms will lead to substantially improved gate fidelity in the near future.
