Quantum first puts Queensland industry on front foot
Australia’s first open access quantum testbed is positioning Queensland as a leader in developing quantum technologies, capability and businesses, while giving industry access to world-class infrastructure. via The University of Queensland.
Professor Arkady Fedorov and Dr Prassana Pakkiam build the gold frame which holds the quantum processor in the refrigeration unit. Photo credit: The University of Queensland
Australia’s first open access quantum testbed is positioning Queensland as a leader in developing quantum technologies, capability and businesses, while giving industry access to world-class infrastructure.
The $10.8 million facility at The University of Queensland removes a hardware roadblock facing industry, technology startups and researchers.
UQ project lead Professor Arkady Fedorov said the National Quantum Computing Testbed is a game changer for innovation in Australia.
“This testbed will give independent developers and researchers affordable access to cutting-edge quantum hardware for early-stage testing of their ideas,” Professor Fedorov said.
“Its small-scale processors will test new technologies before they’re ready to use large-scale quantum hardware – helping to bridge the gap between early-stage development and commercial innovation.
“Lowering a barrier to proof-of-concept testing in quantum research puts Australia on the front foot for quantum hardware development and ensures our people are building valuable skills for the future.”
Now open for business, the testbed is a 5-qubit quantum computer built on a superconductor platform with potential to upgrade capacity in the future.
Qubits or quantum bits are the basic unit of information used to encode data in quantum computing, similar to a bit in everyday computers.
The quantum processors, held on a gold-plated frame, are chilled to minus 273 degrees Celsius by 2 dilution refrigerators, protecting them from electrical noise interference.
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