Quantum computing and technologies for quantum computers will play an important role in the economic value chain in the coming decades. At the same time, the currently available technical methods are not yet suitable for rapid scaling of digital chip architectures, since here the requirements for error correction of the computing processes presuppose a high degree of simultaneous control over a large number of qubits. Digital quantum computers are thus out of the question for application-specific use cases in the short to medium term. In contrast to conventional digital approaches, where the computational process consists of a specific sequence of digital gates, in analog processes the computation is performed via continuous interaction between qubits. These analog approaches are less universal but also less error-prone.

The approach of digital-analog quantum computing (DAQC) complements the flexibility of digital circuits with the robustness of analog computational blocks. Therefore, the goal of this collaborative project is to fabricate and continuously operate a digital-analog quantum computer and the associated calibration and control technology. This quantum computer will be integrated into a high-performance computing environment in which the quantum processor will assume the function of a computing accelerator. Thus, not only quantum supremacy, but a real quantum advantage is to be achieved by means of DAQC already in the next few years.

Such an innovative collaborative project has the potential to set the pace in the competition for the quantum advantage, also internationally, and to place Germany prominently in the midst of this technological development as a business location at an early stage. Such a lighthouse project is also highly attractive for international experts, who represent the most important resource in this competition.

This project is funded by BMBF - Förderkennzeichen 13N15688.