High Performance Control and Error Correction Hardware for Quantum Computing

量子计算带来的变革性好处的实现，关键取决于支持它所需的经典计算的性能。维持系统处于量子状态的控制系统以及从噪声数据中解码所需结果的纠错系统都需要支持。提供这种经典计算支持的主要挑战之一是将不想要的热量传递到冷冻室。它流经传感器和控制数据进出腔体所需的布线，并由腔体自身控制电子设备内的功率损耗产生。通过在低温环境中进行尽可能多的计算，腔内的热负荷可以降到最低，但这受到控制和纠错电子设备功耗的限制。对经典处理的进一步限制是，在许多系统中，它必须非常快地完成，即在量子系统的消相干时间内--通常是几十微秒。UCL的一个衍生公司Intrent正在为嵌入式计算应用开发一种新颖、快速和低功耗的存储技术。该公司的团队包括世界级的学术创始人和经验丰富的半导体高管。该项目旨在以一种新的方式推进Intrintive公司的技术，使其能够在支持量子系统的计算机的能力和性能方面实现数量级的改进。对于数字计算系统，通过开发Intrintive公司的嵌入式非易失性存储器，以现有闪存技术不可能实现的方式，将所需的程序或系数存储器集成到芯片上，从而减少存储器瓶颈，从而实现性能提升。这通过减少内存传输的能量和延迟，极大地降低了成本和功耗。此外，该项目还将探索利用模拟计算带来的更激进和更具创新性的改进。Intrative的忆阻器具有模拟存储特性，这些特性是模拟计算体系结构的基础。之前的测试表明，我们的技术与低温操作兼容，产生的热量最小。该项目将首先进一步开发和表征我们的数字应用技术，包括在低温下。然后，我们将探索器件的模拟特性及其适用性，也是在低温下，作为适用于量子控制算法的模拟系统的关键组件。模拟计算可以极大地提高“室内”的可能性，为低温量子系统的性能带来巨大的好处。

Realisation of the transformational benefits quantum computing can bring depends critically on the performance of classical computing needed to support it. Support is needed both for the control systems that maintain the systems in their quantum states as well as for the error correction systems that decode the desired results from noisy data.One of the main challenges in providing this classical computational support is the unwanted transfer of heat to the cryogenic chamber. This flows through the cabling needed for sensor and control data into and out of the chamber and is generated by power dissipation within control electronics in the chamber itself. The heat load in the chamber can be minimised by doing as much of the computation as possible in the cryogenic environment, but this is limited by the power consumption of the control and error correction electronics.A further constraint on the classical processing is that in many systems it must be done extremely quickly, i.e. within the decoherence time of the quantum system -- typically tens of microseconds.Intrinsic, a spin-out of UCL whose team includes world-class academic founders and a deeply experienced semiconductor executive, is developing a novel, fast and lower power memory technology for embedded computation applications. This project aims to advance Intrinsic's technology in a new way such that it can deliver order-of-magnitude improvements in the power and performance of computers supporting quantum systems. For digital computing systems, performance gains will be achieved by developing Intrinsic's embedded non-volatile memory to reduce the memory bottleneck by bringing the required program or coefficient memory on chip in ways not possible with existing Flash technology. This dramatically improves both cost and power consumption by reducing the energy and latency of memory transfers. Further, this project will also explore more radical and innovative improvements that come from exploiting analogue computing. Intrinsic's memristors have analogue memory properties that are fundamental to analogue compute architectures. Prior tests suggest that our technology is compatible with cryogenic operation, producing minimal heat dissipation.This project will first further develop and characterise our technology for digital applications, including at cryogenic temperatures. We will then explore the analogue properties of the devices and their suitability, also at cryogenic temperatures, as key components of analogue systems suitable for quantum control algorithms. Analogue computing could provide significant boost to what is possible 'in chamber' bringing huge benefits to the performance of cryogenic quantum systems.