Quantum Computing: Sci-Fi Technology Requires Real-World Engineering

As CTO of IBM Quantum, Oliver Dial leads the development of the world’s most advanced quantum computers. He discusses the challenges of building quantum ICs, operating them at cryogenic temperatures, the future of quantum computing, and more.

A decade after demonstrating the first entanglement of semiconducting spin quantum bits, or qubits, Oliver Dial and IBM Quantum are developing the ICs, cryogenic systems, error mitigation techniques, and software tools that will identify solutions to problems beyond the scope of classical computers.?Recently, the IBM Quantum team announced the Heron 133-qubit and Condor 1,121-qubit quantum processors, and Dial joins us to talk about a subject that he loves.

The highlights of this conversation between Dial and our Moore’s Lobby host, Daniel Bogdanoff , include:

• A comparison of quantum and classic Turing computing systems.
• Temperatures down to 0.1 kelvin (brrr!) to noise temperatures of 30,000 kelvin (hotter than the sun, but not really).
• An audio symphony of quantum circuits running computations from around the world.
• Qubits are probably much bigger than you would expect.
• Why packaging engineers are the unsung heroes of the semiconductor and quantum industries.
• Semiconductor engineers telling quantum engineers, “you guys are doing these all wrong.”
• The technology advance in the newer Heron processor that Dial is most excited about.

Meet Oliver Dial

Oliver Dial has performed pioneering research on semiconductor singlet-triplet qubits and quantum Hall experiments. His experience in quantum physics helped shape the development of IBM's 20-qubit quantum processor, which, at its release, was the world's most advanced quantum computer. Today, he continues to lead IBM Quantum’s efforts to scale superconducting quantum processors.

Oliver led the standardization of how quantum experiments are run and recorded. This formed the foundation of IBM's quantum backend code. He is acknowledged as one of IBM's, and the world’s, leading experts on quantum hardware.

Oliver has a BS in Physics from CalTech and a PhD in Physics from 美国麻省理工学院 . As a postdoctoral fellow at 美国哈佛大学 , he demonstrated the first case of semiconductor spin-tangling in qubits.