Amazon Braket, the quantum computing service from AWS, aims to accelerate research and software development in quantum computing. They have added support for pulse-level access to superconducting quantum processors by launching Braket Pulse, a new feature for running pulse-level quantum programs. With this launch, Braket customers have more choice and can dive deeper in their research with the option to code their quantum programs using gates, pulses, or a combination of both.

To study and optimise the performance of today’s quantum computers, researchers often need access to the lowest level of control over the hardware in order to explore use cases such as studying noise or cross-talk, developing new and more robust gates, devising error mitigation schemes, and exploring novel quantum algorithms. Braket Pulse enables customers to manipulate the low-level, analog signals or pulses, that control the qubits of a quantum processor. Customers can use Braket Pulse selectively within their gate-based quantum circuits by inserting blocks of pulse instructions in specific areas of the program to focus on optimising individual operations and fine tune performance.

To take advantage of the Braket Pulse feature, customers can use the Braket SDK or Braket API, or submit tasks directly using the Open Quantum Assembly Language (OpenQASM), an intermediate representation for quantum instructions. Braket Pulse can be used at no extra cost in the US West (N. California) and Europe (London) AWS regions respectively.