Real-time decoding of quantum error correction codes using high-performance computing
2026-08-04 • Distributed, Parallel, and Cluster Computing
Distributed, Parallel, and Cluster Computing
AI summaryⓘ
The authors discuss the challenge of quickly fixing errors in quantum computers to keep them working well, which requires very fast processing of error data. They propose a system called THQLink that uses powerful supercomputers connected to quantum processors to do this error correction in real time. Their setup can handle error correction within just a few microseconds, even as the system grows larger, making it easier to build reliable, scalable quantum machines. This approach can be used in advanced quantum computers that mix classical and quantum computing resources.
Quantum error correctionQuantum computingReal-time decodingSurface codeHigh-performance computingQuantum processing unitLatencyFault toleranceMatching-based decoder
Authors
Lingling Lao, Qiang Wang, Yuanqi Liu, Yantong Liu, Haowen Wang, Yitao Chen, Yankang Zhao, Zhenwei Wu, Wei Zhang, Yong Dong, Yingwen Liu, Mingche Lai, Junjie Wu
Abstract
Quantum error correction (QEC) is indispensable for building scalable fault-tolerant quantum computers. Effective QEC demands stringent real-time decoding: the decoder must process syndrome measurements and determine corrections within a time scale--typically on the order of microseconds, to avoid data backlog. Scaling to large number of logical qubits further necessitates significant computational resources. In this work, we propose an architecture, called \emph{THQLink}, for real-time decoding of quantum error correction codes using high-performance computing (HPC) resources. The network connecting the HPC and the control system of quantum processing unit (QPU) is built on TH-Express and can be adapted to different quantum technologies and their associated control stacks. We report a round-trip latency of 2.944 $μ$s on average, with an incremental overhead of 130 ns per additional hop. Using a parallel window strategy, we demonstrate real-time decoding (1 $μ$s per QEC round) of the surface code up to distance 19 using a matching-based decoder on CPUs. Our work presents a scalable framework for real-time decoding in fault-tolerant quantum computing. It can be readily applied to quantum-centric supercomputers that feature tight integration between QPU and HPC resources, thereby enabling efficient support for hybrid quantum-classical algorithms and computation-intensive workloads offloaded from the QPU.