Quantum Processors - QPU
- [The University of British Columbia]
- Overview
Quantum processors, also known as QPUs, are the central processing units (CPUs) of quantum computers. They use quantum mechanics to calculate differently than traditional processors, and can potentially solve complex problems much faster.
QPUs are the brains of a quantum computer, which exploits the behavior of particles such as electrons or photons to perform certain types of calculations much faster than the processors in today's computers. Just as GPUs and DPUs enable accelerated computing today, they are also helping a new class of silicon, the QPU, deliver on the promise of quantum computing.
Quantum processors use quantum bits, or qubits, which are the basic computational units in quantum computing. Qubits are made of subatomic particles and can exist in many states at once, a property called superposition. This allows quantum processors to draw conclusions about one particle by measuring another, such as determining that if one qubit spins upward, the other will always spin downward. Qubits also operate according to subatomic logic, allowing them to be zero, one, or a combination of both.
Quantum processors can use quantum entanglement to solve problems that might take supercomputers thousands of years to solve in just minutes. For example, in 2024, Google's quantum computer Sycamore was able to perform a calculation in 200 seconds, while IBM's Summit supercomputer would have taken 10,000 years. However, quantum computers are so complex that they're not intended for everyday use and are mainly used in scientific, technological, and corporate fields.
<More to come ..>
