Scientists have achieved 96% preservation of logical qubits on the IBM Heron processor: a breakthrough in quantum error correction
Quantum computing is taking another significant step toward practical implementation. As a result of a joint effort by a research team from the University of Sydney and IBM engineers, an impressive increase in the survival rate of logical qubits to 96% has been achieved on the latest IBM Heron r2 quantum processor.
The main stumbling block on the path to fault-tolerant quantum systems (FTQC) remains the so-called "idle noise." This effect occurs during moments when the system is forced to perform intermediate measurements of qubits for error correction. During such pauses, the remaining components of the processor lose stability, leading to the generation of new errors and nullifying correction efforts.
To overcome this fundamental problem, physicists completely redesigned the architecture of the correction circuits. The key innovation was a radical reduction in computation downtime. The optimized algorithms were tested on the 156-qubit superconducting processor IBM Quantum Heron r2. The result is impressive: the survival rate of logical qubits per error correction cycle increased from less than 90% to 96%.
As noted by project leader Stephen Bartlett, director of Sydney Nano, the forced idle time of processor elements at each stage of computation is a "serious obstacle" to reliable operation. Eliminating this bottleneck is critically important for scaling quantum systems.
It is important to emphasize that, although the result was obtained in laboratory conditions on a single processor, the direction of research is of immense significance for the entire industry. Scalability and fault tolerance remain the main barriers on the path to the era of practical quantum computing. Recall that IBM previously announced plans to achieve the first confirmed cases of quantum advantage by the end of 2026.
Expert opinion: Achieving 96% preservation is not just a number. It is a demonstration that engineering solutions can overcome fundamental physical limitations. If this approach can be scaled to hundreds and thousands of logical qubits, we will see a real transition from experimental laboratory setups to commercially useful quantum computers.