[News] Amazon Unveils First Quantum Chip, Cutting Error Correction Costs by 90%

Following Google and Microsoft’s advancements in quantum chip research, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has recently unveiled its first prototype quantum chip, “Ocelot,” designed to test the effectiveness of AWS’s quantum error correction architecture. Compared to current quantum error correction methods, this approach can reduce costs by up to 90%.

Developed by the AWS Center for Quantum Computing at the California Institute of Technology, Ocelot marks a significant breakthrough in the development of fault-tolerant quantum computers, which are expected to solve complex commercial and scientific problems beyond the capabilities of traditional computers.

One of the biggest challenges of quantum computing is its extreme sensitivity to environmental disturbances, including vibrations, heat, electromagnetic interference from mobile phones and Wi-Fi networks, and even cosmic rays and radiation from space. These factors can cause quantum bits (qubits) to deviate from their quantum states, leading to computational errors. To address this issue, quantum computers rely on quantum error correction, which encodes quantum information across multiple qubits to protect it from environmental interference. However, given the large number of qubits required for accurate results, existing quantum error correction methods are highly expensive.

To tackle this challenge, AWS designed Ocelot (named after the “ocelot” wildcat in zoology) with a novel architecture that integrates error correction from the outset and utilizes cat qubits. Named after the famous 20th-century thought experiment “Schrödinger’s cat,” cat qubits can suppress certain types of errors, reducing the resources required for quantum error correction.

With Ocelot’s design, researchers have successfully integrated cat qubit technology with other quantum error correction components onto a scalable silicon microchip for the first time. The chip measures just one square centimeter and features superconducting thin films that form quantum circuit elements, leveraging advanced fabrication techniques from the microelectronics industry.

Ocelot’s high-quality oscillators are made from a superconducting material called tantalum. AWS materials scientists developed a specialized method for processing tantalum on silicon microchips to enhance oscillator performance.

“With recent advances in quantum research, the emergence of practical fault-tolerant quantum computers is no longer a question of ‘if’ but ‘when.’ Ocelot represents a crucial step toward that goal,” emphasized Oskar Painter, Head of Quantum Hardware at AWS. “Quantum chips designed with the Ocelot architecture will require significantly fewer error correction resources, reducing costs to one-fifth of current methods. We believe this could accelerate the arrival of practical quantum computers by up to five years.”

(Photo credit: Amazon)