Advanced Micro Devices — or AMD — is a Santa Clara, Calif.-based semiconductor company, that is a global leader in computer processors and related technologies. If recent patent applications are any indication, it’s becoming more interested in applying that research and business acumen toward quantum technology.
The company recently applied for two quantum related patents.
Look-ahead Teleportation for Reliable Computation in Multi-SIMD Quantum Processor and Variation-Aware Qubit Movement Scheme for Noise Intermediate Scale Quantum Era Computers.
The teleportation patent is described as a type of quantum architecture. Specifically, it focuses on sites in the chip that hold qubits before they are processed. AMD’s architecture would reduce the number of qubits needed to perform complex calculations through quantum teleportation.
From the patent: “The technique includes determining that, in a first cycle, a first quantum processing region is to perform a first quantum operation that does not use a qubit that is stored in the first quantum processing region, identifying a second quantum processing region that is to perform a second quantum operation at a second cycle that is later than the first cycle, wherein the second quantum operation uses the qubit, determining that between the first cycle and the second cycle, no quantum operations are performed in the second quantum processing region, and moving the qubit from the first quantum processing region to the second quantum processing region.”
SIMD means Single Instruction Multiple Data.
It was initially filed in Feb. 2020 and published on Aug. 2021. In this description, the scientists write that the qubit movement scheme is a way to efficiently route qubits by selecting bubble nodes and routing qubits to the bubble nodes.
They add: “The systems and methods further include dividing a system of nodes into regions and selecting a bubble node for each region. The systems and methods further include using super bubble nodes with reliable links connected to other super bubble nodes and bubble nodes to improve cross-region operations.”
AMD applied for the patent in Dec. 2019 and it was published in June 2021.
The systems and methods further include dividing a system of nodes into regions and selecting a bubble node for each region. The systems and methods further include using super bubble nodes with reliable links connected to other super bubble nodes and bubble nodes to improve cross-region operations.
While two patents does not a quantum research program make, the patents are extremely advanced and show a deep understanding of the science, the field and, importantly, demonstrates that the company has the necessary expertise to apply that understanding to build actual quantum solutions.
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