As quantum computers grow more ambitious, many researchers believe the best way forward is to build them in multiple interconnected parts. In these modular designs, separate quantum processors are linked so they can work together as one larger machine. For this to happen, however, connections must carry fragile quantum information without destroying it.
For superconducting processors, this means building reliable links around a meter (3.3 feet) long inside equipment chilled to just above absolute zero. A team at IBM Research has now achieved this for the first time: joining two large superconducting processors using four separate high-quality quantum links, all installed after both chips were already in place.
Their work is detailed in a new paper published on the arXiv preprint server.
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