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Surface code logical operations on a superconducting quantum processor

Weiping Lin, Shaojun Guo, Yuwei Ma, Zhengzhong Yi, Kai Zhang, Jian-Wei Pan

Featured July 10, 2026

Original Paper

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Simply

Scientists built a quantum computer that can not only store fragile quantum information but also actively move and change it using error-protected building blocks, like joining and splitting quantum "patches," a big step towards reliable quantum computing.

In depth
The paper demonstrates the experimental realization of fault-tolerant logical operations on a 107-qubit superconducting quantum processor. They achieve this by implementing a set of patch-based surface-code primitives like merge, split, expansion, and shrinkage, which are then composed to perform logical state routing and a Clifford-generating set of gates (CNOT, Hadamard, Phase). This work advances quantum error correction from protected memory to active manipulation of encoded quantum information.

Key Takeaways

  • 1
    The study successfully implements a reusable primitive layer for surface code operations, including merge, split, expansion, and shrinkage, on a 107-qubit superconducting processor.
  • 2
    The authors compose these primitives to realize fault-tolerant logical gates, specifically the CNOT, Hadamard, and Phase gates, forming a Clifford-generating set.
  • 3
    All operations are performed on distance-three rotated surface-code patches with multi-round syndrome extraction and neural-network decoding, without post-selection, demonstrating a significant step towards active fault-tolerant quantum computation.

Conceptual Flow

HIGH LEVEL
1
Methodology: Building Blocks for Quantum Operations

Imagine building with LEGOs: this method uses simple quantum "patch" operations like joining or stretching to create complex quantum commands.

Small Qubit Area
Another Qubit Area
Join or Stretch
Bigger Qubit Area
Changed Qubit Area
2
Results: Performing Error-Protected Quantum Commands

By combining these simple building blocks, the computer can now do important quantum calculations, like flipping or entangling quantum bits, while staying protected from errors.

Simple Qubit Actions
Combine Actions
Complex Qubit Commands
Error-Protected Results