Description
Opportunity : Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), operated by the Lawrence Livermore National Security (LLNS), LLC under contract no. DE-AC52-07NA27344 (Contract 44) with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is offering the opportunity to license its Quantum technology to further development in collaboration with LLNL and commercialize. Background : Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) continues to play a key role in the evolution of high-performance computing, imaging systems, and other technology that enables us to address emerging national security challenges. Today, those challenges are driving efforts to explore new paradigms in computing, simulation, and sensing. LLNL’s research teams are harnessing the power of quantum physics to develop innovative capabilities that advance national security missions and meet needs identified by our industry partners. Investment in quantum computing development is accelerating as technologies become more viable and the need for fast, high-performance, complex analysis is outgrowing classical computing capabilities. As part of LLNL’s research and development efforts to enable quantum computing, LLNL researchers are designing advanced control techniques that will offer the speed and performance needed for quantum systems. In the quantum computing environment, we are testing customized control pulses that will allow us to decrease the number of gates needed to enact a given algorithm, without sacrificing fidelity. Our work includes efforts to accelerate computing times, leveraging our expertise in applied mathematics, computer science, and high-performance computing to “correctly” solve extremely complex problems. Our research is also improving performance of algorithms, offering the coherence and fidelity needed to solve problems at the quantum scale. Technical challenges are still difficult, including finding ways to control the qubits to minimize degradation, errors and noise. In very rough terms, gates are the physical structures within quantum computers that operate on qubits, similar in concept to classical logic gates in classical computers but with the potential advantages offered by quantum mechanics. LLNL has invented a new intrinsic dynamical decoupled gate to provide a physical platform for conducting high-fidelity entangling gates, an essential part of a universal quantum computer. Description : LLNL’s intrinsic dynamical decoupled gates invention is a general technique that can be applied to a quantum computing system that uses a trapped-ion entangling gate based on microwaves. The technique is a unique gate that is designed to be insensitive to qubit frequency shifts (caused by magnetic field noise, misalignment of the ions, etc.) automatically. Previously proposed and performed gates are not intrinsically insensitive to qubit frequency shifts and require added fields to dynamically decouple them from these noise sources. Traditional gates require precise alignment of the gate fields with these external fields as well as properly aligning the ions. This invention does not require either because it commutes with static errors caused by many miscalibrations and because it uses the fields that create the gate to do dynamical decoupling. This invention is a new type of trapped-ion entangling gate that can be tuned to be simultaneously robust to motional decoherence and qubit frequency shifts, while requiring only two microwave magnetic fields and one near-motional-frequency magnetic field gradient to perform the gate operation. This design should enable higher gate fidelities for laser-free entangling gates without sacrificing speed or increasing the complexity of the required driving fields. Laser-free trapped-ion gates are a promising way forward because they do not require as much laser overhead, don't have photon scattering, and offer significantly improved phase control. Advantages : This gate provides simultaneous robustness to qubit frequency shifts and to motional decoherence without requiring additional control fields, offering a combination of increased fidelity and decreased experimental overhead. The principle advantages of this invention are: • It is high fidelity and laser-free. • It allows for significant reduction of calibrations. If the gate is properly aligned, the dynamical decoupling fields are also aligned. • It uses existing fields in the computing system, instead of adding an extra field to the already existing gate. Potential Applications : Quantum computers are being designed to use qubits to represent data, and to process and analyze multiple data states simultaneously. The main applications of these computing systems are in scientific and enterprise computing for solving complex analysis/optimization/simulation problems that would be too taxing for classical computing systems. End users are primarily in the defense, healthcare, and financial services markets, with specialty applications expected to emerge for cybersecurity, automotive, chemical research, and machine learning. These end users are likely to access quantum computing capabilities primarily via cloud services. Development Status: LLNL has filed a patent application for this invention. The inventors have also published several journal articles on this technology: Laser-free trapped-ion entangling gates with simultaneous insensitivity to qubit and motional decoherence Trapped-ion spin-motion coupling with microwaves and a near-motional oscillating magnetic field gradient Versatile laser-free trapped-ion entangling gates LLNL is seeking industry partners with a demonstrated ability to bring such inventions to the market. Moving critical technology beyond the Laboratory to the commercial world helps our licensees gain a competitive edge in the marketplace. All licensing activities are conducted under policies relating to the strict nondisclosure of company proprietary information. Please visit the IPO website at https://ipo.llnl.gov/resources for more information on working with LLNL and the industrial partnering and technology transfer process. Note: THIS IS NOT A PROCUREMENT. Companies interested in commercializing LLNL's Intrinsic Dynamical Decoupling Gates technology should provide a written statement of interest, which includes the following: 1. Company Name and address. 2. The name, address, and telephone number of a point of contact. 3. A description of corporate expertise and facilities relevant to commercializing this technology. Written responses should be directed to: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Innovation and Partnerships Office P.O. Box 808, L-795 Livermore, CA 94551-0808 Attention: FBO 453-20 Please provide your written statement within thirty (30) days from the date this announcement is published to ensure consideration of your interest in LLNL's Intrinsic Dynamical Decoupled Gates technology.