Coding fault-tolerant quantum computing

Quantum Computing Recent advances in creating quantum processors comprising several tens of qubits bring the era of quantum advantage tantalizingly close. Reaching that point, however, will require quantum processors that are scalable and fault tolerant. With the underlying architectures of these processors based on superconducting qubits laid out in a two-dimensional array, so-called surface codes are being developed that enable a robust error-correction capability due to the collective behavior of several qubits. Li et al. describe compass codes, a generalized version of surface codes, that can deal various kinds of noise affecting the processor. A compass code can be engineered to correct for specific types of noise and thus provides a general route to fault-tolerant quantum processors. Phys. Rev. X 9 , 021041 (2019).