Q# Blog
Quantum Development
Latest posts
Interning at Microsoft Quantum – 2024
We announce Microsoft Quantum research internships for summer 2024 and share some completed intern projects from this summer.
Defining logical qubits: Criteria for Resilient Quantum Computation
As an industry, we are all collectively committed to bringing scaled quantum computing to fruition. Understanding what it will take to reach this goal is crucial not just for measuring industry progress, but also for developing a robust strategy to build a quantum machine and a quantum-ready community. That’s why in June 2023, we offered how quantum computing must graduate through three implementation levels to achieve utility scale: Level 1 Foundational, Level 2 Resilient, Level 3 Scale. All quantum computing technologies today are at Level 1, and while numerous NISQ machines have been developed, they do not of...
Calculating resource estimates for cryptanalysis
We’re excited to release the Resource Estimation and Cryptography interactive experience in Azure Quantum. This experience offers a deep dive into the potential implications of fault-tolerant quantum computing on common cryptographic systems. Thanks to the power of the Azure Quantum Resource Estimator, we can provide estimates of the number of qubits required and expected runtime for a range of quantum algorithms that could be used to break these cryptographic systems across different assumptions of hardware configurations. These estimates help generate actionable insights that can help inform every organization ...
Azure Quantum Integrated Hybrid unlocks algorithmic primitives
To build a quantum supercomputer that can solve the world’s hardest and most complex problems in chemistry and materials science, several key ingredients need to come together. First, today’s foundational-level quantum machines need to be scaled up to a size of at least one million stable and controllable qubits. These are the table stakes for solving any interesting, useful algorithmic problem better or faster than a classical computer, based on what we know from profiling quantum programs using the Azure Quantum resource estimator. Second, they need to be kept stable which means that error correction will be...
Introducing the Azure Quantum Development Kit Preview
100x faster, 100x smaller, and it runs in the browser! The Azure Quantum team is excited to announce the initial preview of the new Azure Quantum Development Kit (or QDK for short). This has been entirely rebuilt using a new codebase on a new technology stack, and this blog post outlines the why, the how, and some of the benefits of doing so. The “tl;dr” is that we rewrote it (mostly) in Rust which compiles to WebAssembly for VS Code or the web, and to native binaries for Python. It’s over 100x smaller, over 100x faster, much easier to install & use, works fully in the browser, and is much more productive...
Modeling quantum architecture with Azure Quantum Resource Estimator
Introduction There are numerous architectural decisions to consider when building quantum computers, which have the potential to address real-world computational challenges like quantum chemistry and quantum cryptography. Researchers worldwide are engaged in developing various aspects of quantum computer architecture. Microsoft Azure Quantum Resource Estimator plays a pivotal role in assessing how different combinations of design choices might impact the performance of upcoming quantum computers. Azure Quantum Resource Estimator was designed to assist researchers in estimating computational time and t...
Mentoring capstone projects at the University of Washington
In this blog post we share our experience of mentoring two capstone projects as part of the "Accelerating Quantum-Enabled Technologies" program at the University of Washington.
Blueprint to organize a quantum computing workshop
For many people, learning a new skill is easiest when it's a shared experience. Quantum computing workshops offer an interactive, structured and co-operative forum to jump start your quantum learning. But how do organize such an event? The Azure Quantum team frequently receives questions on how to organize quantum computing workshops, so we thought it would be helpful to provide some guidance. And Azure Quantum is the ideal platform for quantum workshops because it provides the following: If you want to organize a workshop on quantum computing, this is your guide! Note that this guide ...
Azure Quantum introduces sessions to accelerate your research with variational algorithms
To take full advantage of an Interactive Hybrid architecture, many popular algorithms such as the Variational Quantum Eigensolver (VQE) and the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA) require tight integration between the cloud provider and the quantum hardware manufacturer. Today, Azure Quantum is introducing sessions, freeing you from the need to understand specificities of the cloud provider or quantum manufacturer. With a simple Python API call you can start a session that will logically group your jobs and take advantage of performance optimizations that the quantum manufacturer m...