In module 2 and 3, we discussed spin qubits in semiconductor quantum dots and nitrogen-vacancy centers. Despite the differences, in both cases qubits were realized with the spin degree of freedom of the electron. It is now time to discover a totally new platform: superconducting qubits.

If a quantum computer is able to perform complex quantum algoithms it might need millions or even billions of qubits. Superconducting qubits are nowdays one of the most advanced platforms in the quantum community regarding the number of qubits, and many large companies, such as Google, Intel and IBM, are now investing in them. IBM Q experience is an online platform where users from the general public can already access a five-qubit processor and run small algorithms.

In the first three videos, Leonardo DiCarlo, Professor in applied physics, will describe a transmon, one of the basic building blocks of superconducting qubits. Later, Niels Bultink, Brian Tarasinski and Adriaan Rol will explain how to perform the operations required by universal quantum computation: qubit measurements, single-qubit gate and two-qubit gates.