China Demonstrates Quantum Error Correction Using Microwaves, Narrowing Gap With Google

Insider Brief

• Chinese researchers demonstrated fault-tolerant quantum error correction below the threshold using an all-microwave control approach, marking the first such result outside the United States and narrowing the gap with Google.
• The study showed that microwave-based leakage suppression on a 107-qubit superconducting processor reduced errors as the system scaled, confirming stable distance-7 surface code performance.
• By avoiding hardware-intensive control methods, the microwave approach may reduce wiring complexity and improve the scalability of large quantum computers.
• Image: Researchers at the University of Science and Technology of China, in the central province of Anhui, stand in front of the Zuchongzhi 3 superconducting quantum computing system. (SCMP, Handout)

Chinese researchers have shown that a superconducting quantum computer can cross a key reliability threshold using microwave-based control, a result that could ease some of the hardest…