A new, intuitive web interface, integration of popular SDKs, and functionality to seamlessly integrate quantum and classical computing are just some of the improvements in Quantum Inspire, Europe’s only freely accessible quantum computer in the cloud. The software updates and the introduction of two new quantum computers, collectively known as Quantum Inspire 2.0, were festively unveiled at an inauguration event, organised by QuTech and TNO.

Quantum Inspire

Since its initial launch in April 2020, QuTech’s quantum computing demonstrator Quantum Inspire, a collaboration between Delft University of Technology and TNO, has been actively engaging the quantum research, education and enthusiast community. At www.quantum-inspire.com it provides users with free cloud access to various technologies for performing quantum computations and offers them insights into the principles of quantum computing.

Additionally, as a full-stack system, it serves as an important testbed for advancing quantum computing technology by collaboration between academia and industry.

Software updates

Quantum Inspire 2.0 introduces a multitude of software improvements, from top to bottom. The website interface offers an enhanced user experience, while the new and improved cloud platform equips users with new quantum compilers and support for Qiskit and PennyLane, both widely used in the community. Improvements like these facilitate easy connections to other hardware and software platforms.

Under the hood, significant software enhancements have been implemented. An important one is that Quantum Inspire 2.0 now has a built-in functionality that users can use to integrate quantum and classical computing, using a supercomputer node provided by SURF.

Richard Versluis, Principal Systems Engineer at TNO: “We have added this because we expect that hybrid classical-quantum computing will become increasingly important. Collaboration through Quantum Inspire has been taking place in this area for years already. An important example of a hybrid system is the quantum computer that will be integrated with a supercomputer at SURF through EuroHPC.”

Festive launch of Quantum Inspire 2.0. Photo credit: QuTech.

Superconducting hardware update: Starmon-7

For Quantum Inspire 2.0, both a new superconducting qubit and a spin qubit quantum computer have been introduced.

The superconducting backend – developed by QuTech, TU Delft’s interfaculty quantum technology research institute – has been expanded to a 7-qubit processor named Starmon-7.

The developments of the superconducting backend in Quantum Inspire have strategic importance on a Dutch and European scale. The upgrade to the Starmon-7 backend is an enabling step in demonstrating the scalability of quantum device and control architectures. Here QuTech’s DiCarlo lab targets scaling up to around 20 and then 40 qubits in 2025, and to 100 qubits in 2026, as part of the EU Quantum Flagship project OpenSuperQPlus.

Prof. Frank Wilhelm-Mauch, the coordinator of OpenSuperQPlus remarked “Quantum Inspire put quantum computers online in a time when the rest of Europe was only talking about it. In its second generation, it is a key part of the success of our project.”

In addition, the Starmon-7 device features improved technical parameters. For example, the number of qubit pairs which can natively engage in two-qubit gates has doubled, from 4 to 8. Moreover, in-house developments have sped up readout operations from 2 to 1 microseconds and have increased average fidelity past 99%.

Leo DiCarlo, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Professor at Delft University of Technology: “Starmon-7 is now just large enough to allow everyone to perform simple quantum error detection and correction experiments, in addition to NISQ applications such as quantum neural networks and quantum simulations.”

Next to these hardware changes, improvements in automated recalibration as well as the reporting and monitoring of device parameters are exciting new features available to all users.

Festive launch of Quantum Inspire 2.0. Photo credit: QuTech.

Spin qubit hardware update: Spin2+

In 2020, at the launch of Quantum Inspire 1.0, the semiconducting spin qubit quantum processor, Spin-2, was one of the most advanced solid state quantum chips based on single-electron spins and the only one in the world available for public online access. Quantum Inspire 2.0 contains a new quantum chip with 6 quantum dots, developed in a collaboration between TNO and TU Delft, with significantly improved performance.

The full stack semiconducting spin qubit computer, developed by TNO, houses this 6-dot quantum processor that yields qubits whose excellent performance was reported in Nature. The online version of Quantum Inspire uses 3 of these 6 dots, and as one of them is used as a ‘helper’ qubit, the new system is called Spin2+.

The overall qubit performance has increased to impressive levels, especially for a device that is online 24/7 using a fully automated calibration system. Single-qubit gate fidelity (accuracy) improved from 99.0% to 99.9%, surpassing the threshold required for future fault tolerance. Two-qubit gate fidelity in this device is 95,5% but even higher fidelities were reached in the offline device presented in Nature. Also, read-out times improved from 600 to 74 µs and read-out fidelity improved to 98%.

With its extremely small footprint and compatibility with standard transistor technology, semiconducting quantum processors are a great promise for large-scale quantum computing requiring thousands to millions of qubits on a single chip.

Festive launch

To celebrate this milestone, representatives from QuTech and TNO, as well as the quantum technology startup community in Delft, several ministries and universities, Holland High Tech, and more, gathered in Delft to toast to the introduction of the new system.

Presenting the opening speech and moderating the event was Holland High Tech Director Leo Warmerdam, who also had the honor to press ‘RUN’ on the first bit of code to be executed on Quantum Inspire 2.0.

Leo Warmerdam: “Quantum Inspire is a nice example of successful triple helix collaboration: universities, industry and government working together to create impact and value. The Netherlands is a leader in quantum technology, in science but no less in valorisation, as shown by the number of successful quantum startups that have already been launched. Internationally, we have the momentum. Let’s make sure we keep it!”

Festive launch of Quantum Inspire 2.0. Photo credit: QuTech.

Ready for the next steps

Kees Eijkel, General Director at QuTech, concludes: “The upgrades to Quantum Inspire not only respond to demands from the community, they also prepare us for the next phases in Quantum Computing development: Noisy Intermediate Scale Quantum computing (NISQ) and Error Corrected Quantum Computing and for interesting developments like quantum and classic hybrid computers.”