Module 3

Quantum Computation Principles, Quantum

Hardware & Implementation
Syllabus content of module 3
• Contents— • Physical Qubits
• Quantum Circuits • Superconducting qubits
• Circuit diagrams and gate • Trapped ions
sequences • Photonic qubits
• Universality of quantum gates • Gate Implementation
• Pulse-level control
• No-Cloning Theorem and
• Calibration and readout
implications
• Reversible Computing
• Scalability Challenges
Guiding Principles of Quantum
Computation
• Superposition – Qubits exist in a combination of |0> and |1>
• Entanglement – Strong correlations between qubits
• Interference – Amplifies correct outcomes
• Measurement – Collapses qubits to basis states
• Reversibility – Quantum gates are unitary
Universality of quantum gates

• In quantum computing, a set of gates is universal if any unitary

operation (on any number of qubits) can be approximated to arbitrary
precision using just those gates.
• This is similar to classical computing, where the NAND gate is
universal.
• Single-qubit universality means any arbitrary single-qubit unitary
operation can be constructed using a finite sequence of basic gates
like H, S, and T. Together with a two-qubit entangling gate (like
CNOT), they form a universal gate set for universal quantum
computation.
Reversible Computing
Reversible Computing is a computational paradigm where every
operation is logically reversible—meaning the output uniquely
determines the input.
Unlike conventional computing, where information can be lost (e.g., the
AND gate loses information because from output 0 you cannot know
which input pair produced it), reversible computing ensures no
information is destroyed.
This concept has important implications for energy efficiency,
thermodynamics of computation, and quantum computing.
Key Ideas
• Logical Reversibility
• A computation is reversible if it can be inverted without ambiguity.
• Each output state corresponds to exactly one input state.
• Reversible Gates
• Unlike AND/OR, reversible gates are bijective. Common examples:
• NOT gate – reversible (0→1, 1→0).
• CNOT (Controlled-NOT) – reversible.
• Toffoli gate – universal for reversible computing.
• Fredkin gate (controlled-SWAP) – also universal.
Key Ideas
• Relation to Quantum Computing
• All quantum operations are unitary (and thus reversible).
• Reversible computing provides the classical foundation for quantum
computation.
• Applications
• Low-power computing – reducing heat dissipation in future CPUs.
• Quantum algorithms – since quantum logic is inherently reversible.
• Cryptography & error correction – easier to trace computations backward.
Example: Reversible vs
Irreversible
• Irreversible AND gate:
• Inputs: (0,0), (0,1), (1,0), (1,1)
• Outputs: 0,0,0,1 → three inputs map to the same output (0), so info is lost.
• Reversible Toffoli gate:
• Inputs: (a, b, c)
• Output: (a, b, c ⊕ (a·b))
• No two inputs map to the same output → reversible.
Reversible computing
Reversible computing prevents information loss, minimizes heat
dissipation, and forms the backbone of quantum computation.
Basic reversible gates and
circuits in Qiskit.
• Toffoli Gate (CCX)
• Fredkin Gate (CSWAP)
• CNOT (Controlled-NOT)
Toffoli Gate (CCX)

1. Toffoli Gate (CCX)

The Toffoli gate is a universal reversible gate: it flips the target qubit if
both controls are 1.

Input 110 becomes 111, because both controls were 1

Fredkin Gate (CSWAP)

2. Fredkin Gate (CSWAP)

The Fredkin gate swaps two target qubits if the control qubit is 1.

Input 101 becomes 110, since control=1 triggered a swap of qubits 1

and 2.
CNOT (Controlled-NOT)
3. CNOT (Controlled-NOT)Simplest reversible gate:

Flips target qubit if control is 1.

Note: These are the basic reversible gates in Qiskit. Since all quantum
circuits are reversible, you can build any reversible computing logic by
composing these.
Combine Toffoli + Fredkin to
build a full reversible logic
circuit
A common example is a Reversible Half-Adder or Full Adder, where no
information is lost.

• CNOT (XOR) → gives the SUM

• Toffoli (AND) → gives the CARRY
• Fredkin can be used to route/swap outputs conditionally without
losing information.
Example: Reversible Full Adder
(using Toffoli + Fredkin)
• This is a reversible Full Adder circuit built with
Toffoli (CCX) and Fredkin (CSWAP).
Scalability challenges
Scalability challenges refer to the difficulties an organization,
technology, or system faces when trying to expand in size, capacity, or
complexity while maintaining performance, reliability, and efficiency.
Depending on the context (software systems, business processes,
quantum computing, etc.), the challenges may differ, but common
themes include:
Scalability challenges
• Performance Bottlenecks
As demand grows, certain parts of the system (databases, networks,
computation units) may limit overall performance.
Example: A single server struggling to handle increasing user requests.
• Resource Management
• Efficient allocation of CPU, memory, storage, and bandwidth becomes harder
at scale.
• Cloud resources help but add complexity in monitoring and cost optimization.
• Data Volume and Throughput
• Massive amounts of data can overwhelm storage and processing pipelines.
• Ensuring low-latency access and fast query responses is challenging.
Scalability challenges
• Cost Efficiency
• Scaling up hardware or infrastructure is expensive.
• Scaling out (adding more distributed nodes) introduces coordination and
synchronization costs.
• Complexity of Architecture
• Larger systems often require microservices, distributed databases, and load
balancing.
• More moving parts → more potential points of failure.
• Fault Tolerance and Reliability
• At scale, failures are unavoidable. Designing fault-tolerant and self-healing systems
is critical.
• Redundancy increases costs and design complexity.
Scalability challenges
• Network and Latency Issues
• Geographically distributed users experience latency.
• Synchronization across regions is hard (e.g., CAP theorem trade-offs) (Refer Next Slide).
• Security and Compliance
• Scaling systems means larger attack surfaces.
• Meeting data protection and regulatory compliance at scale requires strong governance.
• Human and Organizational Factors
• Scaling teams, processes, and decision-making structures introduces management overhead.
• Communication and coordination challenges increase.
• Technology Limitations
In areas like quantum computing, AI, or IoT, hardware limitations (qubit errors, model training
time, sensor power limits) constrain scalability.
Reference:
The CAP theorem
• The CAP theorem is a fundamental concept that helps to guide the design and
implementation of distributed systems.
• Consistency: Every read receives the most recent write or an error.
• Availability: Every request receives a response, without guarantee
that it contains the most recent version of the information.
• Partition tolerance: The system continues to function even when
network partitions occur.
Scalability Challenges in
Quantum Computing.
• Scaling quantum systems is one of the biggest barriers between
today’s noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices and large,
fault-tolerant quantum computers.
Scalability Challenges in
Quantum Computing.
1. Qubit Quality and Coherence Time
Challenge: Qubits lose their quantum state quickly due to decoherence
and environmental noise.
• Scaling requires many qubits that all remain stable long enough to perform
deep computations.
• Current coherence times are in the microseconds to milliseconds range,
limiting circuit depth.
Scalability Challenges in
Quantum Computing.
2. Qubit Connectivity and Control
Challenge: Not all qubits in a device are directly connected (limited
coupling maps).
• As systems grow, routing qubits through SWAP gates increases error rates.
• Control electronics for thousands of qubits (lasers, microwaves, cryogenic
wiring) become extremely complex.
Scalability Challenges in
Quantum Computing.
3. Error Rates and Fault Tolerance
Challenge: Physical qubits are noisy, and large-scale computation
requires quantum error correction (QEC).
• Estimates suggest millions of physical qubits are needed to realize thousands
of logical qubits.
• Implementing QEC at scale is a huge overhead in hardware and software.
Scalability Challenges in
Quantum Computing.
4. Cryogenic Infrastructure
Challenge: Superconducting qubits and some spin qubits need to
operate near absolute zero and below temp(typically, below –150 °C,
down to millikelvin levels).
• Scaling from 100 → 1,000 → 1,000,000 qubits requires exponential increases
in cooling power, wiring, and control channels.
• Physical space and heat dissipation become bottlenecks.
Scalability Challenges in
Quantum Computing.
5. Fabrication and Uniformity
Challenge: Large-scale quantum chips demand high fabrication
precision.
• Variability in qubit performance (frequency drift, gate fidelity) makes scaling
inconsistent.
• Manufacturing yield of identical, stable qubits is not yet at industrial scale.
Scalability Challenges in
Quantum Computing.
6. Software and Compilation
Challenge: As circuits grow, efficient compilation, transpilation, and
routing are critical to map logical circuits onto limited hardware
topologies.
• Depth-optimized transpilers, error-aware scheduling, and noise-
adaptive compilation are still active research areas.
Scalability Challenges in
Quantum Computing.
7. Measurement and Readout
Challenge: Scaling requires fast, high-fidelity measurement of
thousands of qubits simultaneously.
• Current readout mechanisms are relatively slow and noisy, limiting speed and
accuracy.
Scalability Challenges in
Quantum Computing.
8. System Integration
Challenge: Quantum devices must integrate with classical control
systems (for error correction, feedback, and hybrid algorithms).
• As qubit count grows, classical-quantum communication overhead increases
dramatically.
Scalability Challenges in
Quantum Computing.
9. Energy and Cost
Challenge: Cooling systems, control electronics, and fabrication scale
costs is very high.
• Building a practical million-qubit machine requires massive infrastructure and
energy efficiency breakthroughs.
Scalability Challenges in
Quantum Computing.
10. Algorithmic Scalability
Challenge: Many algorithms assume ideal qubits.
• Adapting quantum algorithms to noisy, intermediate-scale hardware while
ensuring meaningful speedups is nontrivial.
Scalability Challenges in
Quantum Computing
In summary: The main scalability hurdles are

• Physical (qubit stability, cooling, control),

• Engineering (fabrication, integration, wiring),
• Software (error correction, compilation, hybrid systems).
Conditions for Quantum
Computation
• Scalable system with well-characterized qubits
• Ability to initialize qubits
• Long decoherence times
• Universal set of gates
• Qubit-specific measurement
• For communication: convert stationary ↔ flying qubits
Types of Quantum Computer
based on physical qubit
framework
• Harmonic Oscillator Quantum Computer
• Optical Photon QC – Optical Cavity QED
• Ion Trap Quantum Computer
• Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) QC
Harmonic Oscillator Quantum
Computer
• Based on quantized harmonic oscillator model
• Realizations: superconducting microwave cavities, ion vibrations
• Qubits in lowest states or continuous variables
• Advantages: long coherence, flexible coupling
Optical Photon QC – Optical
Cavity QED
Quantum Electrodynamics (QED)
• Photons as qubits (polarization, time-bin, spatial modes)
• Optical cavity enhances photon-atom interaction
• Applications: single-photon gates, quantum networks
• Advantages: low decoherence
• Challenges: deterministic two-qubit gates
Ion Trap Quantum Computer
• Ions trapped with electromagnetic fields
• Qubits encoded in stable internal states
• Laser pulses implement gates
• Two-qubit gates via shared vibrational modes
• Advantages: long coherence, high fidelity
• Challenges: scaling to large numbers
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
(NMR) QC
• Qubits in nuclear spin states
• Controlled by radio-frequency pulses
• Coupling via J-coupling
• Advantages: precise control
• Limitations: poor scalability, weak signals
Quantum computers: State of the Art
• So far we have seen how quantum computing
works mathematically.
Quantum computers: State of the Art
• So far we have seen how quantum
computing works mathematically.
• We have discovered that it is
possible to exploit certain
phenomena, in particular quantum
parallelism, to build quantum
algorithms capable of solving some
types of problems exponentially
faster.
Quantum computers: State of the Art
• So far we have seen how quantum
computing
works mathematically.
• We have discovered that it is
possible to exploit certain
phenomena, in particular quantum
parallelism, to build quantum
algorithms capable of solving some
types of problems exponentially
faster.
• The example of Deutsch's algorithm
made us begin to understand the
potential of quantum computers
Quantum computers: State of the Art
• So far we have seen how quantum
computing
works mathematically.
• We have discovered that it is
possible to exploit certain
phenomena, in particular quantum
parallelism, to build quantum
algorithms capable of solving some
types of problems exponentially
faster.
• The example of Deutsch's algorithm
made us begin to understand the
potential of quantum computers
• We then briefly mentioned the
existence of other very powerful
quantum algorithms, such as the
Shor algorithm
Quantum computers: State of the Art
• So far we have seen how quantum
computing
works mathematically.
• We have discovered that it is
possible to exploit certain
phenomena, in particular quantum
parallelism, to build quantum
algorithms capable of solving some
types of problems exponentially
faster.
• The example of Deutsch's algorithm
made us begin to understand the
potential of quantum computers
• We then briefly mentioned the
existence of other very powerful
quantum algorithms, such as the
Shor algorithm
• A question now arises: why today's
Quantum computers: State of the Art
• Short answer: today's quantum
computers are not advanced
enough. They are much more like
advanced prototypes than
production machines
Quantum computers: State of the Art
• Short answer: today's quantum
computers are not advanced
enough. They are much more like
advanced prototypes than
production machines
• First of all, current machines don't
have enough qubits to implement
meaningful problems using the
algorithms mentioned above
Quantum computers: State of the Art
• Short answer: today's quantum
computers are not advanced
enough. They are much more like
advanced prototypes than
production machines
• First of all, current machines don't
have enough qubits to implement
meaningful problems using the
algorithms mentioned above
• But the number of qubits is not
the only problem that limits the
use of current quantum
computers
Quantum computers: State of the Art
• Short answer: today's quantum
computers are not advanced
enough. They are much more like
advanced prototypes than
production machines
• First of all, current machines don't
have enough qubits to implement
meaningful problems using the
algorithms mentioned above
• But the number of qubits is not
the only problem that limits the
use of current quantum
computers
• As you can imagine, building a
quantum computer is not an easy
task. There are many problems to
overcome.
Quantum computers: State of the Art
• Short answer: today's quantum
computers are not advanced
enough. They are much more like
advanced prototypes than
production machines
• First of all, current machines don't
have enough qubits to implement
meaningful problems using the
algorithms mentioned above
• But the number of qubits is not
the only problem that limits the
use of current quantum
computers
• As you can imagine, building a
quantum computer is not an easy
task. There are many problems to
overcome.
• Let's see how to get an idea of the
Building a Quantum Computer
• The first thing that, trivially, we • Number of
have to look at when we try to Qubits
evaluate the effectiveness of a real
quantum computer is the number of
qubits.
Building a Quantum Computer
• The first thing that, trivially, we • Number of
have to look at when we try to Qubits
evaluate the effectiveness of a real
quantum computer is the number of
qubits.
• As we will see shortly, so far the
most powerful General Purpose
quantum computer models do not
exceed one hundred qubits
Building a Quantum Computer
• The first thing that, trivially, we • Number of
have to look at when we try to Qubits
evaluate the effectiveness of a real
quantum computer is the number of
qubits.
• As we will see shortly, so far the
most powerful General Purpose
quantum computer models do not
exceed one hundred qubits
• Few for a universal quantum
computer, close in number for other
applications
Building a Quantum Computer
• The first thing that, trivially, we • Number of
have to look at when we try to Qubits
evaluate the effectiveness of a real
quantum computer is the number of
qubits.
• As we will see shortly, so far the
most powerful General Purpose
quantum computer models do not
exceed one hundred qubits
• Few for a universal quantum
computer, close in number for other
applications
• Very important thing: bigger and
bigger models keep coming out. The
next milestone, which seems to
apply to everyone, is to reach a
thousand qubits by 2023
Building a Quantum Computer
• The second thing we need to • Number of Qubits
observe to evaluate a quantum • Connectivity of
computer is the connectivity
between its qubits. Qubits
Building a Quantum Computer
• The second thing we need to • Number of Qubits
observe to evaluate a quantum • Connectivity of
computer is the connectivity
between its qubits. Qubits
• In quantum computing as a
mathematical science, we never
talk about the possibility that two
qubits are not connected to each
other.
Building a Quantum Computer
• The second thing we need to • Number of Qubits
observe to evaluate a quantum • Connectivity of
computer is the connectivity
between its qubits. Qubits
• In quantum computing as a
mathematical science, we never
talk about the possibility that two
qubits are not connected to each
other.
• In practice, if two or more qubits
are not connected to each other, it
is not possible to perform quantum
gates involving them together.
Building a Quantum Computer
• The second thing we need to • Number of Qubits
observe to evaluate a quantum • Connectivity of
computer is the connectivity
between its qubits. Qubits
• In quantum computing as a
mathematical science, we never
talk about the possibility that two
qubits are not connected to each
other.
• In practice, if two or more qubits
are not connected to each other, it
is not possible to perform quantum
gates involving them together.
• In these cases, it is necessary to
alter the quantum circuit to adapt it
to the needs of the machine being
used (quantum compilation)
Building a Quantum Computer
• The second thing we need to • Number of Qubits
observe to evaluate a quantum • Connectivity of
computer is the connectivity
between its qubits. Qubits
• In quantum computing as a
mathematical science, we never
talk about the possibility that two
qubits are not connected to each
other.
• In practice, if two or more qubits
are not connected to each other, it
is not possible to perform quantum
gates involving them together.
• In these cases, it is necessary to
alter the quantum circuit to adapt it
to the needs of the machine being
used (quantum compilation)
Building a Quantum Computer
• The second thing we need to • Number of Qubits
observe to evaluate a quantum • Connectivity of
computer is the connectivity
between its qubits. Qubits
• In quantum computing as a
mathematical science, we never
talk about the possibility that two
qubits are not connected to each
other.
• In practice, if two or more qubits
are not connected to each other, it
is not possible to perform quantum
gates involving them together.
• In these cases, it is necessary to
alter the quantum circuit to adapt it
to the needs of the machine being
used (quantum compilation)
Building a Quantum Computer
• The third problem that we must take • Number of Qubits
into consideration, which is also totally
absent on paper, is the problem of the • Connectivity of
decoherence of the superposition Qubits
states • Coherence Time
Building a Quantum Computer
• The third problem that we must take • Number of Qubits
into consideration, which is also totally
absent on paper, is the problem of the • Connectivity of
decoherence of the superposition Qubits
states • Coherence Time
• Quantum superposition states are
extremely fragile states.
Building a Quantum Computer
• The third problem that we must take • Number of Qubits
into consideration, which is also totally
absent on paper, is the problem of the • Connectivity of
decoherence of the superposition Qubits
states • Coherence Time
• Quantum superposition states are
extremely fragile states.
• In order to be maintained for a
sufficiently long time it is necessary that
the quantum computer is protected from
practically any form of noise
Building a Quantum Computer
• The third problem that we must take • Number of Qubits
into consideration, which is also totally
absent on paper, is the problem of the • Connectivity of
decoherence of the superposition Qubits
states • Coherence Time
• Quantum superposition states are
extremely fragile states.
• In order to be maintained for a
sufficiently long time it is necessary that
the quantum computer is protected from
practically any form of noise
• Even the qubits themselves contribute to
producing noise capable of destroying
quantum states: this is one of the
reasons why it is difficult to make large
chipsets.
Building a Quantum Computer
• The third problem that we must take • Number of Qubits
into consideration, which is also totally
absent on paper, is the problem of the • Connectivity of
decoherence of the superposition Qubits
states • Coherence Time
• Quantum superposition states are
extremely fragile states.
• In order to be maintained for a
sufficiently long time it is necessary that
the quantum computer is protected from
practically any form of noise
• Even the qubits themselves contribute to
producing noise capable of destroying
quantum states: this is one of the
reasons why it is difficult to make large
chipsets.
• How can the problem be addressed? In
addition to isolating the QPU from the
outside world as much as possible, it is
necessary to improve the technology of
Building a Quantum Computer
• The third problem that we must take • Number of Qubits
into consideration, which is also totally
absent on paper, is the problem of the • Connectivity of
decoherence of the superposition Qubits
states • Coherence Time
• Quantum superposition states are
extremely fragile states.
• In order to be maintained for a
sufficiently long time it is necessary that
the quantum computer is protected from
practically any form of noise
• Even the qubits themselves contribute to
producing noise capable of destroying
quantum states: this is one of the
reasons why it is difficult to make large
chipsets.
• How can the problem be addressed? In
addition to isolating the QPU from the
outside world as much as possible, it is
necessary to improve the technology of
Building a Quantum Computer
• The fourth thing to consider is the • Number of Qubits
application of quantum gates to qubits
circuits. • Connectivity of
Qubits
• Coherence Time
• Operations on
qubits
Building a Quantum Computer
• The fourth thing to consider is the • Number of Qubits
application of quantum gates to qubits
circuits. • Connectivity of
• Several techniques are used to Qubits
physically build a quantum gate • Coherence Time
• Operations on
qubits
Building a Quantum Computer
• The fourth thing to consider is the • Number of Qubits
application of quantum gates to qubits
circuits. • Connectivity of
• Several techniques are used to Qubits
physically build a quantum gate • Coherence Time
• What must be taken into account when • Operations on qubits
thinking about a real quantum • Not every gate is
computer is that not all quantum gates available
may be available for a certain
hardware.
Building a Quantum Computer
• The fourth thing to consider is the • Number of Qubits
application of quantum gates to qubits
circuits. • Connectivity of
• Several techniques are used to physically Qubits
build a • Coherence Time
quantum gate • Operations on qubits
• What must be taken into account when • Not every gate is
thinking about a real quantum available
computer is that not all quantum gates • Not instantaneous
may be available for a certain
hardware.
• In addition, they have an application time
that affects the maximum time available
to complete a circuit
Building a Quantum Computer
• The fourth thing to consider is the • Number of Qubits
application of quantum gates to qubits
circuits. • Connectivity of
• Several techniques are used to physically Qubits
build a • Coherence Time
quantum gate • Operations on qubits
• What must be taken into account when • Not every gate is
thinking about a real quantum available
computer is that not all quantum gates • Not instantaneous
may be available for a certain
hardware.
• In addition, they have an application time
that affects the maximum time available
to complete a circuit
• And remember: the time available to
complete a quantum circuit is not
infinite, quite the opposite. The quantum
computer works as long as it can
maintain its superposition state
Building a Quantum Computer
• Last but not least, the applications of • Number of Qubits
quantum gates are not free from
errors • Connectivity of Qubits
• Coherence Time
• Operations on qubits
• Not every gate is available
• Not instantaneous
• Errors on applications (gate
fidelity)
Building a Quantum Computer
• Last but not least, the applications of • Number of Qubits
quantum gates are not free from
errors • Connectivity of Qubits
• This is a very important problem: to have • Coherence Time
a reliable quantum computer, the error • Operations on qubits
percentage on the application of the • Not every gate is available
gates must be zero
• Not instantaneous
• Errors on applications (gate
fidelity)
Building a Quantum Computer
• Last but not least, the applications of • Number of Qubits
quantum gates are not free from
errors • Connectivity of Qubits
• This is a very important problem: to have • Coherence Time
a reliable quantum computer, the error • Operations on qubits
percentage on the application of the • Not every gate is available
gates must be zero
• Not instantaneous
• This is not true in reality, unfortunately. • Errors on applications (gate
There are error mitigation techniques but fidelity)
they require an exaggerated number of
additional qubits per hour (example of
Shor's error correction code)
Building a Quantum Computer
• On May 14, 2021, Google made
public the technical characteristics of
its latest quantum computer,
Sycamore
Building a Quantum Computer
• On May 14, 2021, Google made
public the technical characteristics of
its latest quantum computer,
Sycamore
• Sycamore is a fairly important
machine in the history of
quantum computers: it was the first
computer to achieve an early form
of quantum supremacy (October
2019)
Building a Quantum Computer
• On May 14, 2021, Google made
public the technical characteristics of
its latest quantum computer,
Sycamore
• Sycamore is a fairly important
machine in the history of
quantum computers: it was the first
computer to achieve an early form
of quantum supremacy (October
2019)
• Warning: this does not mean that
Sycamore is more powerful than
any supercomputer in the world
Building a Quantum Computer
• On May 14, 2021, Google made
public the technical characteristics of
its latest quantum computer,
Sycamore
• Sycamore is a fairly important
machine in the history of
quantum computers: it was the first
computer to achieve an early form
of quantum supremacy (October
2019)
• Warning: this does not mean that
Sycamore is more powerful than
any supercomputer in the world
• The quantum supremacy achieved by
the Google device is related to the
implementation of a particular sampling
algorithm: in the implementation of this
particular algorithm, Sycamore also
beat Summit
Building a Quantum Computer
• On May 14, 2021, Google made
public the technical characteristics of
its latest quantum computer,
Sycamore
• Sycamore is a fairly important
machine in the history of
quantum computers: it was the first
computer to achieve an early form
of quantum supremacy (October
2019)
• Warning: this does not mean that
Sycamore is more powerful than
any supercomputer in the world
• The quantum supremacy achieved by
the Google device is related to the
implementation of a particular sampling
algorithm: in the implementation of this
particular algorithm, Sycamore also
beat Summit
• Let's take a look at the power of
Building a Quantum Computer
Building a Quantum Computer
Building a Quantum Computer
Building a Quantum Computer
Quantum Volume
• Quantum Volume is a metric that can
be used to express the power of a
quantum computer.
Quantum Volume
• Quantum Volume is a metric that can
be used to express the power of a
quantum computer.
• Developed by IBM research, try to
enclose all the key characteristics of
a quantum computer in a single
value
Quantum Volume
• Quantum Volume is a metric that can
be used to express the power of a
quantum computer.
• Developed by IBM research, try to
enclose all the key characteristics of
a quantum computer in a single
value
• In particular, it takes into
account connectivity, number of
qubits and error rates.
Quantum Volume
• Quantum Volume is a metric that can
be used
to express the power of a quantum
computer.
• Developed by IBM research, try to
enclose all the key characteristics of
a quantum computer in a single
value
• In particular, it takes into
account connectivity, number of
qubits and error rates.
• It is not intuitive to calculate
Making a
Qubit

Superconducti Neutral Trapped-Ions

ng Atoms

Photonic Topological Diamond

Center
Superconducting Qubits Technology
• The first technology we are going to
analyze is also the most
widespread
Superconducting Qubits Technology
• The first technology we are going to
analyze is also the most
widespread
• Superconducting qubits are rings of
superconducting material crossed by
electric current
Superconducting Qubits Technology
• The first technology we are going to
analyze is also the most
widespread
• Superconducting qubits are rings of
superconducting material crossed by
electric current
• States 0 and 1 are identified with
the flow of
the electric current
Superconducting Qubits Technology
• The first technology we are going to
analyze is also the most
widespread
• Superconducting qubits are rings of
superconducting material crossed by
electric current
• States 0 and 1 are identified with
the flow of
the electric current
• The material with which they are
made, Niobium, is a
superconducting material which, if
cooled to temperatures close to
absolute 0 (Kelvin), become able to
be crossed by electric current in
both directions at the same time.
Superconducting Qubits Technology
• The first technology we are going to
analyze is also the most
widespread
• Superconducting qubits are rings of
superconducting material crossed by
electric current
• States 0 and 1 are identified with
the flow of
the electric current
• The material with which they are
made, Niobium, is a
superconducting material which, if
cooled to temperatures close to
absolute 0 (Kelvin), become able to
be crossed by electric current in
both directions at the same time.
• In this way, the superconducting
qubit is able to reproduce
Superconducting Qubits Technology
• IBM Quantum Division: American
Big Tech, already owner of the
most powerful supercomputer in
the world (Summit), IBM was one
of the first large companies to
seriously embark on the
development of quantum
computers
• In 2016 they created
ibmquantumexperience, a website
where anybody can use their
smallest quantum computers, made
available for free to the public.
• To date, all models with 5 and 16
qubits can
be used for free
• Their largest computer is 65 qubits
• They have a very aggressive
Superconducting Qubits Technology
Superconducting Qubits Technology
Superconducting Qubits Technology
Superconducting Qubits Technology
Superconducting Qubits Technology
• American startup born in 2013 in
California
• They also manufacture their own
general purpose quantum
computers using superconducting
qubits
• Most powerful machine: Aspen-9
(32
qubits)
• They have announced that they
are close to building a model with
128 qubits
Superconducting Qubits Technology
Superconducting Qubits Technology
• D-Wave is our latest example of a
quantum computer company with
superconducting qubits
• Among all those we have seen so far,
it is undoubtedly the most particular:
it does not produce general purpose
quantum computers, but special
purpose
• What does it mean? In practice it means
that it is not possible to use their
computers to implement any quantum
algorithm
• Their computers are made with the sole
purpose of solving optimization
problems by implementing a particular
algorithm called Quantum Annealing
• With this choice, they have shown
that it is possible to make great
chipsets already: their latest model
Superconducting Qubits Technology
Superconducting Qubits Technology

SUPERCONDUCTING
PRO
• Macroscopic
• Very large experience
•Fast operations
• Very low coherence time
• Low fidelity
• Need to be cooled down
Neutral Atoms Qubits Technology
• The second qubits technology that we are
going to analyze is the Neutral Atoms
technology
Neutral Atoms Qubits Technology
• The second qubits technology that we are
going to analyze is the Neutral Atoms
technology
• To date, the only technology that can be
considered mature is Superconducting
technology: all the others that we will
see are in a more or less experimental
phase.
Neutral Atoms Qubits Technology
• The second qubits technology that we are
going to analyze is the Neutral Atoms
technology
• To date, the only technology that can be
considered mature is Superconducting
technology: all the others that we will
see are in a more or less experimental
phase.
• In the case of neutral atoms, however,
we are close to perfecting QC capable of
competing with superconducting ones
Neutral Atoms Qubits Technology
• The second qubits technology that we are
going to analyze is the Neutral Atoms
technology
• To date, the only technology that can be
considered mature is Superconducting
technology: all the others that we will
see are in a more or less experimental
phase.
• In the case of neutral atoms, however,
we are close to perfecting QC capable of
competing with superconducting ones
• Qubits Neutral Atoms are Rubidium
atoms, which can be manipulated
through the use of special lasers
Neutral Atoms Qubits Technology
• The second qubits technology that we are
going to analyze is the Neutral Atoms
technology
• To date, the only technology that can be
considered mature is Superconducting
technology: all the others that we will
see are in a more or less experimental
phase.
• In the case of neutral atoms, however,
we are close to perfecting QC capable of
competing with superconducting ones
• Qubits Neutral Atoms are Rubidium
atoms, which can be manipulated
through the use of special lasers
• Manipulation occurs both in space and
between ground state and excited
state
Neutral Atoms Qubits Technology
• The second qubits technology that we are
going to analyze is the Neutral Atoms
technology
• To date, the only technology that can be
considered mature is Superconducting
technology: all the others that we will
see are in a more or less experimental
phase.
• In the case of neutral atoms, however,
we are close to perfecting QC capable of
competing with superconducting ones
• Qubits Neutral Atoms are Rubidium
atoms, which can be manipulated
through the use of special lasers
• Manipulation occurs both in space and
between ground state and excited
state
• Connectivity is established by the
Rydberg radius
Neutral Atoms Qubits Technology
• Pasqal is a French startup born in Paris in
2019
• Spin-off of the Institut d'Optique
Graduate School, its team boasts among
the greatest experts in quantum
computing using neutral atoms
• The company was born after
demonstrating the effectiveness of
their qubits with a working laboratory
prototype
• In this first phase, Pasqal's quantum
machine is a machine capable of
performing analog calculations
• In other words, it is not yet possible to
program it as a real QC, but it can be
used to simulate the evolution of
particular Hamiltonians
• They plan to have a computer with 100
qubits by September this year and
Neutral Atoms Qubits Technology
Building a Quantum Computer

SUPERCONDUCTING PRO NEUTRAL ATOMS PRO

• Macroscopic • Good coherence
• Very large experience • interchangeable
•Fast operations topology
•Room temperature
• Very low coherence • Experimental technology
time
• Low fidelity
• Needto be cooled
down
Trapped Ions Qubits Technology
• Trapped-ions is the third and qubit
technology that we see in detail today
Trapped Ions Qubits Technology
• Trapped-ions is the third and qubit
technology that we see in detail
• In this case, trapped ions are used as
qubits
Trapped Ions Qubits Technology
• Trapped-ions is the third and qubit
technology that we see in detail
• In this case, trapped ions are used as
qubits
• Through a mechanism like the one in
the figure it is possible to trap an ion
which can be manipulated using laser
pulses
Trapped Ions Qubits Technology
• Trapped-ions is the third and qubit
technology that we see in detail
• In this case, trapped ions are used as
qubits
• Through a mechanism like the one in
the figure it is possible to trap an ion
which can be manipulated using laser
pulses
• This is also a very interesting technology,
albeit
not so mature
Trapped Ions Qubits Technology
• Trapped-ions is the third and qubit
technology that we see in detail In this
case, trapped ions are used as qubits
• Through a mechanism like the one in
the figure it is possible to trap an ion
which can be manipulated using laser
pulses
• This is also a very interesting technology,
albeit
not so mature
• A great strength of this technology is
the connectivity of the qubits: thanks to
the Coulomb forces, every chipset made
with trapped-ion atoms will always
naturally be completely connected.
Trapped Ions Qubits Technology
• IonQ is a quantum computing
hardware and software company
based in College Park, Maryland.
They are developing a general-
purpose trapped ion quantum
computer and software to generate,
optimize, and execute quantum
circuits
• It was founded in 2015
• They are considered the most
advanced
startup in their field
• Their biggest machine is a fully
connected quantum computer with
32 qubits
• They consider it the most powerful
quantum computer in the world, but
to date no work has yet come out
Trapped Ions Qubits Technology

Hence, we introduce Algorithmic Qubits

(AQ), which is defined as the largest
number of effectively perfect qubits you
can deploy for a typical quantum program
1. It’s a similar idea to Quantum Volume,

but takes error-correction into account

and has a clear, direct relationship to

11 32 qubit count. In the absence of error-

correction encoding, AQ = log2(QV), or
inversely, QV = 2AQ. AQ represents the
qubits qubits numberof “useful” encoded qubits in a
particular quantum computer and is a
simple
proxy for the ability to execute real
quantum algorithms for a given
input size.
Building a Quantum Computer

SUPERCONDUCTIN NEUTRAL TRAPPED

G PRO ATOMS PRO IONS PRO
• Macroscopic • Good coherence • Very long
• Very large • interchangeable coherence
experience topology • Promising
•Fast •Room fidelity
operations temperature • Room
Slow
• Very low coherence • Experimental temperature
operations
time technology • Many lasers
• Low fidelity needed
• Needto be cooled
down
Building a Quantum Computer

PHOTONIC
PRO TOPOLOGICAL DIAMOND VACANCIES
• Good scalability PRO PRO
• Almost perfect on paper • Good coherence time
•Room temperature
• Existence not confirmed • Room temperature
• Very • Not so precise
experimental • Difficult to entangle
technology
• Connectivity not
clear
Emulate a Quantum Computer
• Emulating a quantum computer on a classic 1,E+30 1,E+31
computer is possible, but it requires a 1,E+27 1,E+25
considerable amount of resources, especially if 1,E+24
you want to simulate a fair amount of qubits.
1,E+21 9,E+18
• Emulating a qubit requires a lot of RAM: 1,E+18
1,E+15 9,E+12
8 (4 + 4) bytes (for the coefficient) X 2 bits 1,E+12
1,E+09 8,E+06
(the states) In general, emulating N qubits 1,E+06 8,E+03
1,E+03
requires
10 20 40 60 80 100

8 X 2N bytes
• Furthermore, the emulation of a quantum circuit
requires computational time for the application
of quantum gates. Natural phenomena in real
quantum computers, in classical computers they
are calculations to be made, often very
expensive
Emulate a Quantum Computer
1,E+31
MARCONI - 100 1,E+30
1,E+27 1,E+25
Nodes: 980 1,E+24
1,E+21 9,E+18
Processors: 2x16 cores IBM 1,E+18
POWER9 AC922 at 3.1 GHz 1,E+15 9,E+12
1,E+12
Accelerators: 4 x NVIDIA 1,E+09 8,E+06
Volta V100 GPUs, Nvlink 2.0, 1,E+06 8,E+03
1,E+03
16GB 10 20 40 60 80 100

Cores: 32 cores/node
RAM: 256 GB/node
Peak Performance: ~32 PFlop/s
256 x 980 = 250880 GB =
2,5E+14
Quantum Computing In The World
Quantum Computing In The World
• 2018: National Quantum Initiative Act
• 1.2 Billion $ over 10 years + 625 million $ over 5
years for five research centres + 340 million $
from the private sector
• Big Tech Companies: Google, IBM, Intel, Microsoft
(<100 qubits)
• Google: Quantum Supremacy with superconducting qubits
(October 2019).
• IBM: very aggressive roadmap, more than 1000 qubits in 2023
• Microsoft: no QC yet, developed Azure Quantum Network.
Searching for the Holy Grail of the Qubits: The topological
realization
• Very Promising Start-up:
• Rigetti Computing: QC producer, superconducting qubits
technology. Announced 128 qubits model
• IonQ: Trapped-Ion quantum computers
• Honeywell: Trapped-Ion quantum computers
• Xanadu: Photonic quantum computers
• D-WAVE (Canadian start-up, to be precise): manufacturers of
Quantum Annealers, special purpose quantum computers
able to solve optimization problems. More than 5000 qubits
Quantum Computing In The World
• China had made quantum technology a key
priority in its thirteenth five-year plan (2016-
2020)
• Micius: Quantum Experiments at Space Scale: carrying
out a range
of ground-to-space experiments in quantum
communication
• 2017: $10 billion for national laboratory for quantum
information
sciences
• December 2020: China claims to have achieved
quantum supremacy with Jiuzhang, a photonic
quantum computer capable of detecting up to 76
photons (USTC: University of Science and Technology
of China)
• Big Tech Companies: Alibaba, Baidu
• In 2015, Alibaba set up its own quantum computing
laboratory in order to produce a prototype 50 to 100 qubit
quantum computer for general use by 2030
• Baidu, the company behind the eponymous search
Quantum Computing In The World
Company Type Technology Now Next Goal
Intel Gate Superconducting 49 TBD
Google Gate Superconducting 53 / 72 TBD
IBM Gate Superconducting 64 127
Rigetti Gate Superconducting 32 128
USTC (China) Gate Superconducting 10 20
USTC (China) Gate Photonic 76 TBD
IonQ Gate Ion Trap 32 79
IQOQI/Univ. Ulm/Univ. Gate Ion Trap 20 TBD
Innsbruck
NSF STAQ Project Gate Ion Trap N/A ≥64
Intel Gate Spin 26 TBD
Silicon Quantum Computing Gate Spin N/A 10
CEA-Leti/INAC/Institut Néel Gate Spin N/A 100
Pasqal Gate Neutral Atoms 100 1000
D-Wave Annealing Superconducting 5000+ TBD
Far from Universal QC, entering the NISQ
era
• Although the results obtained so far do not
allow us to observe significant applications
of the most famous quantum algorithms,
this does not mean that the computers
produced so far are completely useless.
• Some examples of quantum supremacy
have been
achieved
• Before reaching universal quantum
supremacy, we will arrive at local
quantum supremacy
• By combiningthe power of quantum
computers and current supercomputers, we
can achieve great benefits
• Quantum computers that exist today are
about to reach the power needed to
run hybrid algorithms (NISQ
Computers)
And what about Europe?
• May 2016: over 3400 figures from research and
corporate world
signed the Quantum Manifesto
• The Manifesto, addressed to the European Commission,
said in essence: we have the opportunity to compete for a new
kind of technological independence, let’s take it.
• October 2018: The European Commission launched
the Quantum Flagship programme: 1.3 billions of Euro
to support 10 year of quantum technologies research
and development.
• The European High Performance Computing Joint
Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) is a joint initiative
between the EU, European countries and private
partners to develop a World Class Supercomputing
Ecosystem in Europe.
• The European Processor Initiative (EPI) is a project
whose aim is to design and implement a roadmap for
a new family of low-power European processors for
extreme scale computing, high- performance Big-Data
and a range of emerging applications.
European Union countries quantum initiatives
• 2013: UK (Still in Europe!) became the first country
in Europe to announce its own quantum strategy,
investing €370 million over five years
• 2018: realization of a National Quantum Computing centre
with the aim to build a Quantum Computer
• 2019: additional investment of £153 million in quantum
computing
• 2018: Germany announced a framework programme
with the aim to develop quantum technologies
• The framework programme was funded with over €650 million
• May 2021: Germany will spend about 2 billion euros to
support the development of its first quantum computer and
related technologies in the next four years
• 2019: the French government instructs a task force to
implement
a national strategy for quantum technologies
• January 2021: Emmanuel Macron announced the National
Quantum Plan
• The Quantum Plan provides for actions in support of research
(especially for quantum computers, sensors, and
communications), industry, and academic and professional
training. It is financed with €1.8 billion
Quantum Computing in Italy
• Quantum Computing is also becoming a reality
in Italy.
• With the Italian Recovery Fund (PNRR) the
Italian government has provided a large
amount of money to be donated to research
on strategic issues. Quantum Computing has
been defined as such.
• For technology transfer, the government aims
to use
€1.3 billion to create 20 regional innovation
hubs for research and development, jointly
funded by the public and private sectors and
modelled after the Fraunhofer institutes for
applied research in Germany.
• Another €1.6 billion will be used to launch
seven new centres on key technologies:
artificial intelligence, quantum computing,
HPC and Quantum Computing: HPCQS
Consortium • The HPCQS consortium was born with the idea
of
combining HPC and QC hardware and
software.
• For the realization of Quantum Computers, the
French company PASQAL was chosen, which
produces quantum computers based on Neutral
Atoms technology
• During the 4 years of the project, the most
efficient way to connect Pasqal computers to
EuroHPC supercomputers will be studied.
• In fact, latency between computing systems is
a
significant problem
• The ultimate goal of the project is the creation
of an interconnected network of quantum
computers throughout Europe, able to
HPC and Quantum Computing: HPCQS
Consortium
HPC and QC in Italy: role of
CINECA
• CINECA, the Italian supercomputing center
and inter- university consortium, started
working in the field of quantum computing
3 years ago, in 2018.
• Today CINECA, together with the most
important European computing centers,
is part of the HPCQS consortium
• From March 2021 it distributes DWAVE
quantum computing hours and General
Purpose Quantum Computing
emulatorsfree of charge to Italian
universities through the ISCRA project.
• At the beginning of 2021 the CINECA
Quantum Computing Lab was
inaugurated (
[Link])
HPC and QC in Italy: role of
CINECA • Also in March 2021 a collaboration with
Pasqal began. This collaboration, which runs
parallel to the HPCQS project, was born with
the aim of testing the hardware status of
the Pasqal machine.
• In addition to scientific research, CINECA is
also developing a series of "HPC-ready"
emulators based on different systems
(including tensor network emulators of not
perfect quantum systems, able to make the
most of the available computational
resources)
• On this front collaborations are proceeding
with Pasqal
and UniPD
• Not only software and algorithm
development: organization of annual
conferences (HPCQC, this year in its fourth
Gate Implementation
• Pulse-level control
• Calibration and readout

• Abstract View: Logical quantum gates (like X, H, CNOT) are implemented as

physical operations on qubits. High-level gates are composed of sequences of
pulses at the hardware level.

• Example: An X-gate (bit-flip) → implemented by applying a calibrated

microwave pulse at the qubit's resonance frequency for a specific duration.
• Definition:
Quantum gates are the building blocks of quantum circuits, analogous to classical
logic gates. They manipulate qubits by applying unitary operations.
• How It Works:
Quantum gates (like X, H, CNOT, etc.) are implemented by applying electromagnetic
pulses (typically microwave or laser pulses) to the qubits. Each gate corresponds to a
specific sequence of control signals that drive the qubit evolution according to the
desired unitary transformation.
• Example:

the qubit around the X-axis of the Bloch sphere by 𝜋 radians (equivalent to a NOT operation).
• Single-qubit Gate (X Gate): A resonant microwave pulse applied for a precise duration rotates

• Two-qubit Gate (CNOT Gate): Requires precise timing and interaction between two qubits,
often using cross-resonance pulses or controlled interactions mediated by a coupling element.
Pulse-Level Control

• Definition:
Pulse-level control refers to programming quantum operations by specifying the exact
shape, duration, amplitude, and phase of control pulses rather than using abstract gate-level
instructions.
• Why Important:
• Enables fine-grained control over qubit dynamics.
• Allows custom gates, error mitigation, optimal control techniques.
• Useful in research and calibration.
• Pulse Schedule Example:
• Drive a qubit with a Gaussian-shaped pulse at a specific frequency.
• Combine pulses to implement a custom gate (e.g., an echoed cross-resonance gate).
• Qiskit Example:
Qiskit Pulse allows specifying pulse schedules in [Link] to directly control the
hardware.
Calibration
Calibration refers to tuning and characterizing the control system to ensure
accurate gate implementations.
Why It’s Needed:
• Qubits are sensitive to noise and drift over time.
• Calibration ensures pulses produce the correct rotations or entanglement.
Types of Calibration:
• Frequency Calibration: Find the exact resonance frequency of each qubit.
• Amplitude Calibration: Tune pulse amplitude for correct Rabi oscillations.
• DRAG (Derivative Removal by Adiabatic Gate) Calibration: Suppresses leakage outside
the computational subspace.
• Readout Calibration: Ensures correct mapping of qubit state to measurement outcome.
Calibration Process:
• Sweep drive frequencies and amplitudes.
• Measure Rabi oscillations, Ramsey fringes.
• Fit experimental data to extract optimal parameters.
• Store calibrated parameters in backend for reliable gate operation.
Readout
• Definition:
Readout is the process of measuring the quantum state of a qubit,
converting the quantum state into a classical bit (0 or 1).
• How It Works:
• Typically uses dispersive readout in superconducting qubits:
• A probe microwave signal is sent into a resonator coupled to the qubit.
• The qubit state shifts the resonator frequency.
• The reflected or transmitted signal is analysed to infer the qubit state.
Readout Process:
• Apply a measurement pulse (readout resonator).
• Qubit state influences the resonator’s frequency or phase.
• Signal is amplified and digitized → mapped to 0 or 1.
• Challenges:
• Readout errors due to imperfect signal-to-noise ratio.
• Measurement crosstalk when multiple qubits are measured.
• Measurement Calibration:
• Calibrate readout discriminators (e.g., by measuring |0⟩ and |1⟩ many times).
• Generate a confusion matrix to correct readout errors during postprocessing.
Summary Table
Aspect Description
Gate Implementation Logical gates mapped to pulse sequences on hardware
Pulse-Level Control Low-level control of amplitude, frequency, phase, duration
Calibration Periodic tuning of pulse parameters for accuracy
Readout Mapping quantum states to classical bits (measurement)
Module 3 completed