Engineering the Quantum Scientific Computing Open User Testbed

• Published in: IEEE transactions on quantum engineering Vol. 2; pp. 1 - 32
• Main Authors: Clark, Susan M., Lobser, Daniel, Revelle, Melissa C., Yale, Christopher G., Bossert, David, Burch, Ashlyn D., Chow, Matthew N., Hogle, Craig W., Ivory, Megan, Pehr, Jessica, Salzbrenner, Bradley, Stick, Daniel, Sweatt, William, Wilson, Joshua M., Winrow, Edward, Maunz, Peter
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 2021; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Access control; Algorithms; Circuits; Hardware; Ions; Laboratories; Laser excitation; laser mode locking; Logic gates; Optical pulses; Optimization; Quantum computing; quantum entanglement; Qubit; Qubits (quantum computing); Steel; vacuum technology
• ISSN: 2689-1808; 2689-1808
• DOI: 10.1109/TQE.2021.3096480

The Quantum Scientific Computing Open User Testbed (QSCOUT) at Sandia National Laboratories is a trapped-ion qubit system designed to evaluate the potential of near-term quantum hardware in scientific computing applications for the U.S. Department of Energy and its Advanced Scientific Computing Research program. Similar to commercially available platforms, it offers quantum hardware that researchers can use to perform quantum algorithms, investigate noise properties unique to quantum systems, and test novel ideas that will be useful for larger and more powerful systems in the future. However, unlike most other quantum computing testbeds, the QSCOUT allows both quantum circuit and low-level pulse control access to study new modes of programming and optimization. The purpose of this article is to provide users and the general community with details of the QSCOUT hardware and its interface, enabling them to take maximum advantage of its capabilities.