Quantum computers will not be that different: A blueprint for quantum computer architecture at scale

Abstract:Quantum computers are technologically novel and unusual, but at system scale they should be engineered using many of the same principles that govern classical heterogeneous accelerators. This paper argues that utility-scale quantum architecture is primarily a cost-performance problem across a coupled quantum-classical system, leading to a blueprint for scalable quantum processing unit (QPU) design. Our architecture blueprint is organized around clean logical abstractions, hiding details and complexity of physical qubit modalities below the instruction set architecture (ISA) boundary, and specializes recurring functions aggressively to minimize the cost for utility scale quantum computations. Its low-level implementation through specialized local hardware for control, readout, and quantum error correction (QEC) closely resembles the architecture of high-performance network stacks. One of our main insights is that the design principles and the resulting architecture closely follow established practice from classical computing and networking.

arXiv:2609.19639 [quant-ph]

(or arXiv:2609.19639v1 [quant-ph] for this version)

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2609.19639 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration)

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