Quantum router achieves 98% transmission efficiency in China’s Wukong tests

A quantum router tested on China’s Origin Wukong superconducting quantum computer has achieved information transmission efficiency of up to 98 percent, offering researchers a route toward building more scalable quantum memory systems. Several Chinese research teams developed and tested the coherent routing system for bucket-brigade quantum random access memory, or QRAM, Science and Technology Daily reported on Wednesday. Their experiments used three independent quantum routers and a two-layer network to examine how the approach performs on existing hardware. The work addresses a key challenge in expanding QRAM: routing quantum information through a system as its architecture becomes more complex. Researchers said the results could support scalable memory development while improving the integration of quantum chips and circuit design. Routing quantum information The teams carried out their experiments on Origin Wukong, China’s third-generation, independently developed superconducting quantum computer. Rather than testing only an isolated component, they built individual routers and a network linking routing functions across two layers. The coherent routing system acts as a “fast lane” for data transmission, according to the report. Its development is aimed at bucket-brigade QRAM, with the researchers exploring how such routing can be implemented using superconducting computing hardware. Building three independent routers allowed the teams to test the individual routing units. The two-layer arrangement then provided a way to examine transmission through a more complex network. That distinction matters when assessing the findings. Strong performance from a single router establishes one part of the picture, while the network tests show how the system performs when additional routing stages are involved. Transmission and fidelity results The single quantum router achieved information transmission efficiency of up to 98%. Across the two-layer routing network, overall transmission efficiency reached 93%. The teams also conducted random-access tests, reporting average fidelity of 94.8% for the single router and 82.4% for the two-layer network. These are separate measurements from transmission efficiency. The 98% figure describes the reported transmission performance of an individual router; it does not represent the fidelity of the full network or the performance of the computer as a whole. Both sets of results were lower for the two-layer network than for the individual router. The experiments demonstrated routing at two levels of complexity on the same superconducting computing platform. A path toward scalable memory Researchers said the breakthrough offers a new approach to building scalable QRAM on existing superconducting hardware. The results provide a basis for pursuing that approach beyond individual routing components. According to the report, the work also reflects a shift in China’s quantum computing research toward testing more complex quantum functions on real machines, alongside efforts to improve individual performance metrics. The researchers identified potential benefits including lower computing costs, greater efficiency and closer integration between quantum chips and circuit design. Those possibilities extend beyond the transmission and fidelity measurements reported in the tests. For now, the demonstrated achievement is a coherent quantum routing system tested through individual routers and a two-layer network on Origin Wukong.Get the latest in engineering, tech, space & science - delivered daily to your inbox.Atharva is a full-time content writer with a post-graduate degree in media & amp; entertainment and a graduate degree in electronics & telecommunications. He has written in the sports and technology domains respectively. In his leisure time, Atharva loves learning about digital marketing and watching soccer matches. His main goal behind joining Interesting Engineering is to learn more about how the recent technological advancements are helping human beings on both societal and individual levels in their daily lives.