This course is part 2 of the series of Quantum computing courses, which covers aspects from fundamentals to present-day hardware platforms to quantum software and programming.

The goal of part 2 is to provide the essential understanding of how the fundamental quantum phenomena discussed in part 1 can be realized in various material platforms and the underlying challenges faced by each platform. To this end, we will focus on how quantum bits (qubits, the building block of quantum information processing) can be defined in each platform, how such qubits are manipulated and interconnected to form larger systems, and the sources of errors in each platform.

With an emphasis on present-day leading candidates, we will discuss following specific quantum material platforms:

• Superconductor-based
• Atom/ion traps-based
• Spin-based

The material will appeal to engineering students, natural sciences students, and professionals whose interests are in using and developing quantum information processing technologies.

Attention:

Quantum Computing 1: Fundamentals is an essential prerequisite to Quantum Computing 2: Hardware and Quantum Computing 3: Algorithm and Software. Learners should plan to complete Fundamentals (1) before enrolling in the Hardware (2) or the Algorithm and Software (3) courses.

Alternatively, learners can enroll in courses 2 or 3 if they have solid experience with or knowledge of quantum computing fundamentals, including the following: 1) postulates of quantum mechanics; 2) gate-based quantum computing; 3) quantum errors and error correction; 3) adiabatic quantum computing; and 5) quantum applications and NISQ-era.