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Quantum computers have the potential to revolutionize information technology as we know it by solving certain relevant and interesting problems, using fundamentally fewer resources (number of computational steps) compared with even the fastest supercomputers. While critical aspects of quantum computing are being demonstrated in laboratories across the world, a fully functional and practical quantum computer is still many years away. It therefore becomes of great interest to discover applications of small-scale quantum computers which are the subject of current theoretical and experimental research. In order to facilitate access to small quantum computers, IBM recently announced the IBM Quantum Experience which provides access to a 5-qubit quantum processor as a stepping stone for the community as a whole to continue learning and discovering the full potential of quantum computing.

Quantum computing holds the promise of a novel form of information processing in which data resides in quantum states. By exploiting superpositions and entanglement among these states, quantum logic operations are expected to far surpass conventional digital logic in certain classes of problems. To realize this prospect, we employ superconducting circuits at millikelvin temperatures. The nonlinearity of a Josephson tunnel junction enables a two-level quantum system, or qubit, with excitation energy in the microwave regime. Key recent advances in such devices are the demonstration of robust and simple multi-qubit gates, the integration of superconducting qubits into arrays of four or more, and gate fidelities reaching 99%. [1,2,3]