Open Quantum Design (OQD), a non-profit organization developing the world’s first full-stack, open-source quantum computer, has launched a collection of open repositories now available to the public.

OQD’s vision is to build a collaborative community for technology co-creation to democratize access to quantum technologies. Now, by sharing the code open-source, the global community can access, use, and modify these tools, contributing to the development of open quantum computing designs, and accelerate the advancement of quantum technologies.

“Opening the repositories to the community is an exciting step,” said Greg Dick, CEO, OQD. “Expanding accessibility through the open-source approach enables the community to shape the direction of the technology together.”

The repositories house the open-source software code for OQD’s full-stack, trapped ion quantum computer. Hosted on GitHub, each repository is dedicated to a component of the quantum computer, including:

• OQD Core, focusing on the core, mid-stack components of OQD's open-source quantum computing designs, including interfaces to the analog and atomic layers,
• OQD TrICal, an atomic emulator which emulates the physics of the trapped ion system, including the interactions between the trap, laser arrays, and ions, for studying and designing trapped ion protocols,
• OQD Analog Emulator, allowing users to emulate analog quantum programs on a classical computer, for designing and benchmarking analog quantum simulation algorithms,
• OQD Cloud, a self-hosted cloud server for submitting and running quantum programs with a classical emulator, allowing users to host and use in-house tools in their workflow, and
• OQD Compiler Infrastructure, a variety of tools for compiling and translating quantum programs between stack layers, and ultimately into instructions for the bare-metal quantum device to execute.

“We welcome everyone to access the open repositories, start exploring, and join our community,” said Ben MacLellan, OQD founding contributor and PhD student at the Institute for Quantum Computing, University of Waterloo. “Users can use, modify, and contribute to the code, identify issues, and ultimately work collectively to expand the capabilities of the quantum computer.”

An additional repository called the OQD teaching demo houses the blueprint for building a demonstration of the trapped ion quantum computer. Using 3D printed components and easily accessible electronics, the teaching demo repository shows users how to build a replica trapped ion quantum computer, complete with polystyrene balls trapped using acoustic waves and illuminated with diode lasers – all representing how ions are trapped and controlled in a real trapped ion quantum computer.

“This really is just the beginning,” said Dick, recognizing the momentum that an open community brings to technology development. “The OQD repositories play a key role in driving collaboration, innovation, and open-source quantum technologies forward. We are providing an open platform to scale progress rapidly as a global community.”

OQD’s Documentation brings together the technical documentation for all open repositories in one place. Users and developers can delve into the repositories, experiment and provide input and feedback. Those interested in contributing are welcome to submit a pull request, open an issue, or participate in discussion forums on GitHub.

OQD’s intellectual property includes a full-stack, trapped ion quantum computer, which was developed at the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo and Perimeter Institute’s Quantum Intelligence Lab by Crystal Senko, Rajibul Islam and Roger Melko. OQD aims to develop full-stack open-source quantum computer designs by fostering a collaborative community of diverse contributors.