Q-CTRL’s Black Opal offers quantum leap in computing

University of Sydney quantum physicist Michael Biercuk’s company has launched groundbreaking software.

Q-CTRL’s Michael Biercuk at the University of Sydney. Picture: Renee Nowytarger.

University of Sydney quantum physicist Michael Biercuk has launched one of the world’s first commercially available quantum technology products through his company Q-CTRL.

Yesterday the company launched Black Opal, a software package that helps users solve the huge challenges of operating quantum computers.

“Systems obeying the rules of quantum physics are very fragile. We help suppress errors and reduce decoherence in quantum computers with this particular product,” said Professor Biercuk, who is also founder and chief executive of Q-CTRL.

He believes the product will be a key tool both for those currently experimenting with building effective quantum computers as well as for students who are learning how they work.

The software helps guide users who have to work out how to control the qubits, or the quantum logic gates, in a quantum computer to reduce the error rates and keep the qubits in a coherent state so they can perform operations.

In most quantum computers qubits are controlled with bursts of microwaves or laser light.

“We help teams decide what the shape of that little burst of microwaves or laser light should be to do an operation in a way that is robust against errors,” Professor Biercuk said.

The Black Opal software offers users a solution from a library that it holds, and it can also develop a new solution using machine learning tools.

It can suggest different ways in which a quantum computer can do a particular operation more efficiently, with less likelihood of error or early termination due to loss of coherence.

Professor Biercuk said the product was developed using ­published research by his team at the University of Sydney as well as research conducted within Q-CTRL.

Black Opal is designed to be user-friendly, with an interface that is easy to navigate.

Professor Biercuk said the company would soon launch two more products, Boulder Opal, which could control a quantum computer directly, and Fire Opal, which is for users of quantum sensing technology being developed for the defence and aerospace industries.

“We believe that quantum technology is likely to be as transformational in the 21st century as harnessing electricity was in the 19th,” he said.

Phil Morle, from CSIRO venture capital firm Main Sequence Ventures — which has backed Q-CTRL — said it appeared a new quantum-powered industry was emerging.