Superfluid helium research offers path to lower quantum computing error rates

Researchers are developing new hardware approaches to address the high error rates that hinder the scalability of practical quantum computing. While current designs often rely on superconducting circuits, these are highly sensitive to electromagnetic noise and parasitic electrical charges, which can corrupt stored quantum information.

A team including scientists from the University of Surrey and Northwestern University has proposed a hardware design based on helium-3 superfluid. This approach utilizes an electrically neutral superfluid to create a ‘superfluid helium quantum oscillator’. Because the medium is electrically neutral, the device could be naturally immune to certain types of electromagnetic noise. Calculations suggest this method could result in error rates approximately 100 times lower than those found in conventional superconducting qubits.