Researchers at the University of Surrey have proposed a new qubit design that could help solve the challenge of keeping error rates low as quantum computers scale up. Introduced in a study published in npj Quantum Information, the Superfluid Helium Oscillator Quantum (SHOQ) device uses superfluid helium-3, which can flow without friction.
Many quantum systems today rely on superconducting circuits that are sensitive to electromagnetic noise and stray electrical charges. As the number of qubits increases, controlling such disturbances becomes more difficult. Superfluid helium, which carries no electrical charge, is said to offer natural protection against some types of electromagnetic noise.
According to the researchers’ calculations, the SHOQ device’s error rates could be approximately 100 times lower than those of conventional superconducting qubits. The study’s lead author, Dr. Priya Sharma, said that the components of the concept had been brought together in a microfluidic device for the first time and that the details enabling the device to operate as a qubit had been determined. The team plans to produce a prototype and test the predictions as the next step.
Rather than replacing existing quantum hardware, SHOQ is expected to be used alongside superconducting quantum technology. This would allow different types of qubits to perform different tasks within the same system. In the long term, the device could also be used as a memory that stores quantum information while other hardware carries out computations.
The device requires extremely low temperatures to operate; the researchers note that the conditions required have previously been achieved in superfluid helium-3 experiments. The project was conducted in collaboration with Professor Jens Koch of Northwestern University. The prototype work is being supported by the IAA Commercialisation Fellowship awarded to Dr. Priya Sharma.
Why it matters
The proposal’s significance lies in offering an option to the problem of noise and error control, which grows as the number of qubits increases, without directly replicating the existing superconducting approach. The use of a medium that does not carry electric charge makes it possible to view SHOQ not so much as a way to build an entirely new computer, but as a complementary component that could perform specific functions in existing systems. In particular, the idea of a memory capable of preserving quantum information during computation means that the design’s potential applications are not limited solely to its processing capacity. However, whether the calculated error advantage will be observed in a real device will become clear through prototype production and tests conducted at extremely low temperatures; the current result is not implemented performance, but a design proposal awaiting testing.