Quantinuum Processors Stand Out in Study of Quantum Error-Correction Operations

Insider Brief

• Quantinuum’s processors performed well in a study testing operations needed for quantum error correction, which also introduced a simpler way to assess hardware readiness.
• Helios-1 preserved meaningful results across three patterns of error checks involving up to 91 data qubits, while running more operations in parallel improved performance.
• The benchmark could help assess hardware improvements before full error-correction experiments, though further testing is needed to establish its reliability across larger systems.

PRESS RELEASE — Quantinuum’s processors handled a key step toward quantum error correction more reliably than the other machines in a new study, which also proposes a simpler way to judge whether hardware is ready for that step.

The study, posted on the preprint server arXiv, found that these measurements and the actions they triggered introduced substantially less additional error on Quantinuum’s machines. Its newer Helios-1 processor also performed well in tests modeled on a widely studied error-correction approach, with the researchers needing relatively few test runs — running each test circuit just 50 times — to detect the improvement.

Helios-1 retained meaningful results in larger tests built around three families of error-correction codes, including one involving 91 data qubits. Those experiments tested whether the processor could carry out demanding patterns of operations without errors overwhelming its output. They did not demonstrate successful error correction at those sizes.