Superconducting quantum computer

Extracted Attributes

• Advantages

  High controllability, Compatibility with existing fabrication techniques, Scalability

• Key Components

  Superconducting electronic circuits, Superconductors, Josephson Junctions

• Technology Type

  Quantum computing

• Fundamental Unit

  Superconducting qubits (artificial atoms, quantum dots, superconducting loops)

• Underlying Field

  Solid-state physics

• Design Challenges

  Shaping potential well, Unique energy level separation

• Primary Challenge

  Error Correction

• Qubit Logic States

  Ground state (|g⟩), Excited state (|e⟩), Superposition

• Hardware Challenges

  Defective qubits/wiring, Physical shielding requirements

• Operating Conditions

  Extremely low temperatures (close to absolute zero)

• Underlying Principle

  Superconductivity (a quantum phenomenon generating exterior magnetic fields)

• Performance Challenges

  Qubit coherence time, Speed of quantum operations, Measurement speed and precision

• Qubit Count (IBM Eagle)

  127 qubits (as of 2021)

• Qubit Count (Google Sycamore)

  53 qubits (demonstrated quantum supremacy)

• Current Measurement Performance

  ~50 nanoseconds with 1% error

Timeline

• John Martinis publishes his landmark paper on macroscopic quantum mechanics, experimentally demonstrating quantum phenomena like quantum tunneling in electrical circuits built with superconductors and Josephson junctions, laying the foundation for quantum computing. (Source: related_documents)

  1985

• Up to 9 fully controllable superconducting qubits are demonstrated in a 1D array, and up to 16 in a 2D architecture. (Source: wikipedia)

  2016-05

• A team partnered with Google, led by John Martinis, demonstrates quantum supremacy using the Sycamore chip with 53 superconducting qubits. (Source: summary, related_documents, wikipedia)

  2019-10

• IBM builds its Eagle quantum computer, featuring 127 superconducting qubits. (Source: web_search_results)

  2021

• Researchers from IQM Quantum Computers, Aalto University, and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland discover the Unimon, a novel superconducting qubit. (Source: web_search_results)

  2022

• Baidu announces plans to build a fully integrated quantum computer incorporating superconducting qubits. (Source: web_search_results)

  2022-08

• An article titled 'Scaling up superconducting quantum computers' by Anthony Megrant and Yu Chen (Google Quantum AI) is published in Nature Electronics, discussing challenges and future directions. (Source: web_search_results)

  2025-05-05

• John Martinis is projected to win the Nobel Prize in Physics. (Source: related_documents)

  2025

Superconducting quantum computing

Superconducting quantum computing is a branch of solid state physics and quantum computing that implements superconducting electronic circuits using superconducting qubits as artificial atoms, or quantum dots. For superconducting qubits, the two logic states are the ground state and the excited state, denoted | g ⟩ and | e ⟩ {\displaystyle |g\rangle {\text{ and }}|e\rangle } respectively. Research in superconducting quantum computing is conducted by companies such as Google, IBM, IMEC, BBN Technologies, Rigetti, and Intel. Many recently developed QPUs (quantum processing units, or quantum chips) use superconducting architecture. As of May 2016, up to 9 fully controllable qubits are demonstrated in the 1D array, and up to 16 in 2D architecture. In October 2019, the Martinis group, partnered with Google, published an article demonstrating novel quantum supremacy, using a chip composed of 53 superconducting qubits.

Web Search Results

• Quantum computing with superconducting qubits | PennyLane Demos

  Superconducting quantum computing has gained momentum in the last decade as a leading competitor in the race for building a functional quantum computer. It is based on artificial versions of atomic systems done using superconducting circuits, which allows for versatility and control. They have been easy to scale so far, but increasing the qubit coherence time and the speed of quantum operations and measurements is essential to scaling this technology further. This has motivated so [...] Superconducting qubits are among the most promising approaches to building quantum computers. It is no surprise that this technology is being used by well-known tech companies in their quest to pioneer the quantum era. Google’s Sycamore claimed quantum advantage back in 2019 1 and, in 2021, IBM built its Eagle quantum computer with 127 qubits 2! The central insight that allows for these quantum computers is that superconductivity is a quantum phenomenon, so we can use superconducting [...] Speeding up measurements without losing precision is a hot research topic in superconductor quantum computing. The primary approach has been to make the most out of the limited number of photons we have by reducing all possible environmental noise. Currently, we can perform measurements in about 50 nanoseconds with 1% error. However, since frequent measurements are needed for error correction, better precision and shorter times are required to scale our architectures further.

• Superconducting quantum computing - Wikipedia

  In August 2022, Baidu released its plans to build a fully integrated top to bottom quantum computer which incorporated superconducting qubits. This computer will be all encompassing with hardware, software and applications fully integrated. This is a first in the world of quantum computing and will lead to ground-breaking advancements. [...] In 2022 researchers from IQM Quantum Computers, Aalto University, and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland discovered a novel superconducting qubit known as the Unimon. A relatively simple qubit, the Unimon consists of a single Josephson junction shunted by a linear inductor (possessing an inductance not depending on current) inside a (superconducting) resonator. Unimons have increased anharmonicity and display faster operation time resulting in lower susceptibility to noise errors. In [...] One of the primary challenges of superconducting quantum computing is the extremely low temperatures at which superconductors like Bose-Einstein Condensates exist. Other basic challenges in superconducting qubit design are shaping the potential well and choosing particle mass such that energy separation between two specific energy levels is unique, differing from all other interlevel energy separation in the system, since these two levels are used as logical states of the qubit.

• Superconducting quantum computers: who is leading the future?

  Figure 1 Image 2: figure 1 A conceptual digital artwork of a superconducting quantum computer, featuring a glowing processor, dynamic qubit networks, and global data streams. The design symbolizes scalability, innovation, and the worldwide pursuit of quantum computing breakthroughs Full size image [...] 3 Superconducting qubit architectures Superconducting qubits[13–17, 19:195–9. ")–25, 27] have emerged as strong candidates for building scalable quantum computers due to their high controllability and compatibility with existing fabrication techniques. However, achieving the performance necessary for practical quantum computing remains a challenge[26, 27]. Various types of qubits have been developed to address different aspects of coherence, noise resilience, and gate fidelity. [...] The authors employ a superconducting quantum processor featuring 127 qubits to execute quantum circuits that include up to 60 layers of 2-qubit gates, incorporating a total of 2880 CX gates. Such extensive quantum circuits are impractical for classical methods relying on brute-force approaches. According to, these experimental outcomes are made possible by significant advancements in the coherence and calibration of superconducting processors at this scale, as well as the ability to effectively

• What is Superconducting Qubit - QuEra Computing

  Because they use existing technologies, superconducting quantum computers are probably the most abundant. And with size measured in qubit counts, they are the second largest quantum computers, behind only neutral atom quantum computers. However, two of the above challenges are particularly significant. First, superconducting qubits or their wiring can be so defective that they outright fail. And, second, the shielding they require is physical, which makes superconducting quantum computers the [...] A qubit is the fundamental unit of quantum information, and quite a few modalities are currently being researched and developed. A superconducting computer uses these superconducting loops as its qubits. They exhibit the behavior of atoms, and are thus often referred to as “artificial atoms.” A superconducting qubit can be in a ground state, an excited state, and up until measurement, a superposition of both states. Some are capable of being in higher excited states, although they become known [...] Without resistance, the electrical current in a loop can continue indefinitely without a power source and without loss to heat. This usually happens at temperatures close to absolute zero, however materials have been discovered that transition at relatively high temperatures. And although superconduction does not generate heat, it does, however, generate exterior magnetic fields. These magnetic fields allow the emergence of superconducting qubits and superconducting quantum computing.

• Scaling up superconducting quantum computers | Nature Electronics

  3472 Accesses 2 Citations 11 Altmetric Metrics details ### Subjects Superconducting qubits could be used to build a fault-tolerant quantum computer. But such a device will require millions of components, and various fundamental challenges remain to be addressed. Success will depend on sustained collaboration between industry and academia. This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution ## Access options Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals [...] Article Google Scholar Download references ## Author information ### Authors and Affiliations Google Quantum AI, Goleta, CA, USA Anthony Megrant & Yu Chen Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar ### Corresponding authors Correspondence to Anthony Megrant or Yu Chen. ## Ethics declarations ### Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests. ## Rights and permissions Reprints and permissions ## About this article [...] Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark ### Cite this article Megrant, A., Chen, Y. Scaling up superconducting quantum computers. Nat Electron 8, 549–551 (2025). Download citation Published: 05 May 2025 Issue date: July 2025 DOI: ### Share this article Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.