Google has unveiled Willow, a next-generation quantum chip that represents a significant advance in the field of quantum computing. This chip can complete in minutes what it would take today’s most powerful supercomputers 10 septillion years to do. In short, Willow is a groundbreaking technology in the history of quantum computing.
All about Google Willow!
Willow is designed as a quantum chip with 105 qubits. By improving the quantum error correction mechanism of this chip, Google was able to exponentially reduce error rates when using more qubits. This technology represents what is called a sub-threshold achievement in the world of science, and represents a level of quantum error correction that has not been reached to date.
As we mentioned, the chip is capable of reducing error rates as the number of qubits increases. In a paper published in Nature, it was reported that Willow exponentially reduced the error rate in qubit networks of 3×3, 5×5 and 7×7 dimensions. This result tells us that the quantum error correction theory described by Peter Shor in 1995 has been successfully applied in practice.
In addition, in the random circuit sampling (RCS) benchmark test, a supercomputer performed a calculation that would take 10 septillion years in less than five minutes. This performance shows that quantum computing is well on its way to being usable in real-world applications. Google said the chip will provide innovative solutions in many areas such as drug discovery, energy solutions and artificial intelligence.
Willow was developed at Google’s dedicated manufacturing facility in Santa Barbara. All components are optimized to high quality standards, and the chip is manufactured using advanced engineering solutions for error correction, gate development and calibration. Google has also optimized every step from architectural design to manufacturing to improve the chip’s performance.
With the introduction of Willow, Google will increase the availability of quantum computers in commercial and scientific applications. In particular, the company plans to use quantum algorithms in areas such as energy efficiency, next-generation battery design and combating climate change.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai also announced that Willow is the culmination of a decade of work in quantum computing and that the chip will enable the development of larger-scale quantum computers.
{{user}} {{datetime}}
{{text}}