The Institute for Molecular Science has launched a Commercialization Preparatory Platform, in collaboration with 10 industry partners, to accelerate the development of “cold (neutral)
Technological Breakthroughs and Global Competition
Fierce competition is underway globally for the development of quantum computers by various modalities. However, there remain a number of issues that need to be addressed in order to ensure that these computers can be used practically; these issues include the need to expand the scale of these computers and the ability to take measures against errors that may occur during computation. In recent years, the “cold (neutral) atom” modality, which uses individual atoms as qubits, has been attracting attention from industry, academia, and governments around the world as a revolutionary new method to overcome these issues. Another feature of the cold (neutral) atom modality is that it operates at room temperature and does not require any refrigerators, which are necessary for the superconducting qubit and silicon qubit modalities.
The Ohmori group at the IMS is leading the world in developing the cold (neutral) atom quantum computers. The group has a number of technological advantages and core competencies,[1] including “optical tweezers” and microscope technologies to control a large number of high-quality qubits on a flat surface, and “ultrafast two-qubit gates” that use an ultrafast laser to create a quantum entanglement between two qubits in just 6.5 nanoseconds. In particular, the two-qubit gates represent an important core technology that enables the extraordinary computational speed of quantum computers. In 2022, the ultrafast two-qubit gates developed by the Ohmori group achieved a disruptive innovation that accelerates the two-qubit gates of the conventional cold (neutral) atom method by two orders of magnitude at once.
By taking advantage of these technical advances and core competencies of the Ohmori group, the IMS will accelerate the development and commercialization of quantum computers in collaboration with its industry partners.
World’s First Demonstration of Quantum Supremacy Using Superconducting Quantum Computers in 2019[2]
Message from Professor John Martinis, University of California, Santa Barbara:
“Professor Kenji Ohmori and his team have recently made a major breakthrough to overcome the weakness of the neutral atom method by using ultrafast lasers to drastically accelerate its two-qubit gate by two orders of magnitude. Their optical tweezers and microscope technology for manipulating individual atomic qubits is also outstanding. The team is therefore an extremely promising candidate for the realization of a practical quantum computer in the near future. I would like to actively participate in and contribute to the practical application and commercialization of their quantum computer by making use of my experience.”
Message from Yuki Takemori, General Manager, Innovation Promotion Office, Business Planning & Coordination Department, Development Bank of Japan Inc. Project General Manager of PF:
“After the bursting of the bubble economy, the Japanese economy spent the ‘lost 30 years’ without a clue to its further growth. I expect that