Reliable Quantum Operations Per Second (rQOPS) is a metric that measures the capabilities and error rates of a
quantum computer
A quantum computer is a computer that exploits quantum mechanical phenomena. On small scales, physical matter exhibits properties of both particles and waves, and quantum computing takes advantage of this behavior using specialized hardware. ...
. It combines several key factors to measure how many reliable operations a computer can execute in a single second: logical error rates,
clock speed
Clock rate or clock speed in computing typically refers to the frequency at which the clock generator of a processor can generate pulses used to synchronize the operations of its components. It is used as an indicator of the processor's ...
, and number of reliable
qubits
In quantum computing, a qubit () or quantum bit is a basic unit of quantum information—the quantum version of the classic binary bit physically realized with a two-state device. A qubit is a two-state (or two-level) quantum-mechanical system, ...
.
The quantities included in rQOPS can be measured in all quantum computer architectures, allowing different architectures to be compared with one standard metric. A larger rQOPS measurement indicates a faster and more accurate device capable of solving more complex problems.
Microsoft suggest that a machine with 1 million rQOPS qualifies as a quantum supercomputer.
Alternative benchmarks include
quantum volume
Quantum volume is a metric that measures the capabilities and error rates of a quantum computer. It expresses the maximum size of square quantum circuits that can be implemented successfully by the computer. The form of the circuits is independent ...
,
cross-entropy benchmarking, Circuit Layer Operations Per Second (CLOPS) proposed by
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...
and
IonQ
IonQ, Inc. is an American quantum computing hardware and software company headquartered in College Park, Maryland. The company develops general-purpose trapped ion quantum computers and accompanying software to generate, optimize, and execute ...
's Algorithmic Qubits. However, as opposed to considering qubit performance alone, rQOPS measures how capable a quantum system is at solving tangible problems.
Definition
rQOPS is calculated as rQOPS=Q x f, at a corresponding logical error rate pL., where ''Q'' is the number of
logical qubits and ''f'' is the hardware's logical clock speed.
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...
has selected this metric for the higher quantum computing implementation levels as it encompasses scale, speed, and reliability.
rQOPS =
f]
See also
*
Noisy intermediate-scale quantum era
The current state of quantum computing is referred to as the noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) era, characterized by quantum processors containing up to 1,000 qubits which are not advanced enough yet for fault-tolerance or large enough to ach ...
*
Quantum error correction
Quantum error correction (QEC) is a set of techniques used in quantum computing to protect quantum information from errors due to decoherence and other quantum noise. Quantum error correction is theorised as essential to achieve fault tolerant ...
*
Threshold theorem
References
{{Quantum computing
Units of frequency
Quantum computing