10x increase in atom array size boosts China’s quantum leap

Chinese researchers led by physicist Pan Jianwei at the University of Science and Technology of China have achieved a major breakthrough in quantum computing by creating the largest atom array to date. Their system can arrange over 2,000 rubidium atoms—each acting as a qubit—into precise two- and three-dimensional patterns within 60 milliseconds using a high-speed spatial light modulator and laser beam shaping. This array size is reportedly 10 times larger than previous systems, marking a significant leap in scalability and computational efficiency for neutral atom quantum processors. The team also developed an artificial intelligence system that simultaneously shifts every atom in real time, achieving single-qubit operation accuracy of 99.97%, two-qubit accuracy of 99.5%, and qubit state detection accuracy of 99.92%. They introduced a theoretical framework to balance readout fidelity and atomic retention, proposing a quantum circuit iteration rate (qCIR) metric to evaluate system performance. Their findings suggest that qCIRs of up