OUR TECHNOLOGY
Trapped ions and electronic control
Our qubits are individual atoms, the universe’s closest approximation of a perfect quantum system. We remove one of their electrons to make ions, allowing us to hold them less than the width of a human hair above our ion-trap chips.
Until now, trapped ion-computers have largely relied on lasers to control the qubits. This approach performs well for small processors, but becomes untenable and error-prone as the size of the processor scales, and the number of qubits increases.
Instead of lasers, Oxford Ionics’ trapped-ion processors use a proprietary, patented Electronic Qubit Control (EQC) system to control the qubits. This allows us to combine the unrivalled quantum performance of individual atoms with the scalability and reliability of electronics integrated into silicon chips.
OUR APPROACH TO QUANTUM
Better beats bigger
Is a quantum computer with 1,000,000 qubits better than one with 100 qubits? It depends on how good the qubits are and how they’re wired up: the error rate and connectivity. A quantum processor chip with just a few hundred perfect qubits can solve problems beyond the reach of any supercomputer, but if the qubits aren’t good enough the same problem can take a machine the size of a warehouse.
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Everything we do at Oxford Ionics is about building better, not just bigger, quantum computers. That’s why we build our devices with complete connectivity between qubits, and use the technology which has the lowest error rates ever demonstrated. Controlling our qubits using electronics integrated into silicon chips allows us to do this with processors built in the same factories that make chips for cars and phones.
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WHY US?
Pioneering performance
Oxford Ionics is built on decades of leadership at Oxford University, home to some of the first pioneers of Quantum Computing and birthplace of Quantum Error Correction. We define the frontiers of what’s possible, with our team setting numerous world records including best quantum gates, longest quantum memory coherence times, and best quantum networks demonstrated anywhere in the world, in any technology.
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We accomplish things no one else can by bringing together the best physicists and engineers to build a completely new kind of technology.