Inside Quantum Computing Lab Testing at Keysight World

It's often said, but it bears repeating: the 49er gold rush money was made by the suppliers far more than the miners. Sustainable businesses have been created by selling picks, shovels and jeans.

History is repeating itself today. Behind every breakthrough in quantum computing qubit counting lies a vast collection of laboratory test equipment. Signal generators, arbitrary waveform generators, digitizers, oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, and network analyzers are essential as quantum actors relate superconducting ions, photons, and qubits to computational problems .

R&D in quantum computing is accelerating

Thoughts along these lines piqued our interest when we participated in the quantum computing streams of the recently held Keysight Technologies Keysight World Innovate online conference. Keysight and competitors such as Anritsu and Tektronix are busy offering tools to scale quantum cliffs.

“There is a lot of enthusiasm for this technology, and governments around the world are investing in the research and development needed to expand it,” said Shohini Ghose, Ph.D., a quantum physicist at the University. Wilfrid Laurier, in a keynote speech at Keysight World.

"It's a very exciting time, [but] it's not clear where this technology is going," she said.

Ghose's focus on large-scale investments is borne out by the numbers. Estimates of government and private efforts to boost quantum science and technology, according to Quantum Resources and Careers (QURECA), indicate that current global investments reach nearly $30 billion, with the overall global quantum technology market expected to reach $42 billion. .4 billion by 2027.

Quantum R&D labs likely make up a small portion of the overall test and measurement market, which is expected to grow slightly from $27.7 billion in 2021 to $33.3 billion in 2026. Testing tools used in quantum R&D labs will grow if the promise of quantum computing is to be successfully harnessed.

From the birthplace of Silicon Valley

A central component of Keysight's testbed for developing quantum computers, sensors, and networking equipment is its Quantum Control System (QCS), which was introduced in June. QCS components support direct digital conversion of signals and include a low-noise distributed clock. A Keysight lead explained how it works and why it's important for testing.

"QCS leverages FPGA timing and synchronizations for multi-channel and multi-chassis operations," said Giampaolo Tardioli, vice president of Keysight's Communications Solutions Group, at the event.

These characteristics are important as the quantum community seeks to increase its number of qubits. Software support is also important, added Tardioli, who highlighted Keysight's work to support QCS with Python APIs.

Keysight's benchmarks for quantum quest couldn't feature a more vaunted lineage, as the company grew out of original Hewlett-Packard test equipment that sprang from the Palo Alto, Calif., garage of MM. Hewlett and Packard in the 1930s. The garage is regularly cited as the birthplace of Silicon Valley.

Keysight has developed quantum lab technology both organically (nearly 100 scientists and engineers were involved in the creation of QCS) and through acquisitions. Its quantum roadmap includes the acquisition of modular measurement startup Signadyne in 2016, qubit control software maker Labber in 2020, and error diagnosis specialist Quantum Benchmark in 2021.

Quantum Error Correction Solvers

Although they still lag behind classical computers in most measures, quantum computers have made steady and perhaps increasing progress in recent years.

But many challenges remain before quantum computers can be integrated into business operations, according to Patrick Moorhead, CEO and chief analyst, Moor Insights and Strategy, speaking to Keysight World.

"The biggest hurdle to jump is error correction," Moorhead said, noting that a classical computer can perform billions of calculations before getting an error, but such errors in quantum systems tend to occur after about 100 to .. .