Heron Processors on the Utility Frontier

Abstract

Continued advances in the scale, quality, and speed of superconducting quantum processors have pushed such devices into the era of utility, where quantum computational results challenge the reach of exact classical simulation. While early demonstrations with utility-scale processors have generated substantial interest, further improvements in processor quality are expected to significantly broaden the scope of this nascent computational platform. In this talk, we present an experimental characterization of Heron, a tunable-coupler-based quantum processor that demonstrates a material improvement in quality relative to prior generation 100+ qubit processors. We will discuss Heron's performance as described by relevant metrics such as coherence, crosstalk, and fidelity, highlighting both the obvious benefits of, and challenges unique to, tunable coupler architectures. Finally, we will discuss the projected impact of Heron's performance improvements on near-term error mitigation demonstrations.