Quantum/Machines/IonQ Forte
USA · operational · Trapped ions
IonQ Forte
IonQ Forte is a trapped ions quantum computer operated by IonQ in USA. It has 36 physical qubits. It ranks 5 of 15 trapped ion machines in this table by physical qubit count. 10 sourced specs are in the spec sheet. 3 published benchmark or milestone records are listed below, each marked by who measured it.
Also known as Forte, Forte-1
IonQ's 36-qubit, #AQ 36 system, listed by IonQ as available since 2022. Reachable through Azure Quantum and Amazon Braket (Forte-1). IonQ lists 0.4 percent two-qubit gate error. Site of the cloud unit is not stated in the pages consulted.
Spec sheet
Technical details as the builder or a paper states them, each with its own source. A blank is a fact we could not source, not a zero. Fidelity and coherence figures are in the benchmark table below.
| Spec | Value | Basis | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Processor | Iris in-house ion trap with second-generation vacuum chamber and acousto-optic deflectors | Vendor reported | IonQ page states AODs in the laser system add software configurability; Forte listed as available since 2022. | ionq.com |
| Qubit type | 171Yb+ hyperfine ion | Vendor reported | IonQ page says Yb-171+; Amazon Braket documentation says IonQ's QPUs use chains of trapped 171Yb+ ions. | ionq.comdocs.aws.amazon.com |
| Topology | All-to-all connectivity, software-configurable via acousto-optic beam steering | Vendor reported | IonQ page says qubit structure and addressing lasers can be configured in software. | ionq.com |
| Native gates | GPi, GPi2, ZZ (with virtual Z) | Vendor reported | IonQ native gate guide lists GPi, GPi2 and ZZ for Forte systems; Braket lists gpi, gpi2 and zz for verbatim compilation on IonQ devices. | docs.ionq.comdocs.aws.amazon.com |
| Cooling and environment | Vacuum chamber with laser cooling of Yb-171+ ions | Vendor reported | IonQ page notes improved vacuum in a second-generation chamber; Braket says ions sit in a vacuum chamber; no cryogenic stage is described. | ionq.comdocs.aws.amazon.com |
| Software | Qiskit, Cirq, PennyLane, qBraid, CUDA-Q, IonQ API; Amazon Braket SDK | Vendor reported | SDK list comes from the IonQ documentation index and is IonQ-wide; the Braket device page documents Braket SDK access. | docs.ionq.comdocs.aws.amazon.com |
| Cloud platforms | IonQ Quantum Cloud; Amazon Braket (Forte-1); Microsoft Azure Quantum (ionq.qpu.forte-1) | Vendor reported | Braket device list and Azure provider page each list Forte 1; IonQ docs list Forte 1 as Available. | docs.aws.amazon.comlearn.microsoft.com |
| Access and pricing | Cloud queue; reservations for contract customers; credit-based billing | Vendor reported | IonQ docs say reservations are for customers with an existing contract; no public price is stated in the pages consulted. | docs.ionq.comdocs.ionq.com |
| Predecessor | IonQ Aria | Vendor reported | Forte page states improvements over Harmony and Aria. | ionq.com |
| Successor | IonQ Tempo | Vendor reported | Trade press on IonQ's 2025 analyst day describes Tempo as following the Forte Enterprise machine; IonQ calls Tempo its fifth-generation system. | quantumcomputingreport.comionq.com |
Published benchmark figures
These are numbers the builder or a paper reports for this machine, not results from a common test. The basis column says who measured them. What the metrics mean and why they are not comparable across technologies.
| Metric | Value | Measured | Basis | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algorithmic qubits (#AQ) | 36 | 2026-10 | Vendor reported | #AQ 36 as stated on IonQ system page | ionq.com |
| Single-qubit gate fidelity | 99.98% | 2026-10 | Vendor reported | From IonQ-listed 0.02 percent single-qubit gate error | ionq.com |
| Two-qubit gate fidelity | 99.6% | 2026-10 | Vendor reported | From IonQ-listed 0.4 percent two-qubit gate error | ionq.com |
Timeline
- 2022: First operational
- 2026-10: Status checked: operational
More from IonQ
- IonQ Harmony (decommissioned, 11 qubits)
- IonQ Aria (decommissioned, 25 qubits)
- IonQ Tempo (operational, 100 qubits)
- IonQ Superion 256 (under construction, 256 qubits)
Comparable trapped ion machines
Closest in physical qubit count within the same technology. Counts of different qubit types are not interchangeable across technologies.
| Machine | Operator | Qubits | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| IonQ Forte Enterprise at EPB | EPB | 36 | operational |
| IonQ Forte Enterprise at QuantumBasel | QuantumBasel | 36 | operational |
| IonQ Aria | IonQ | 25 | decommissioned |
| Quantinuum H2 | Quantinuum | 56 | upgraded |
| Quantinuum H1 | Quantinuum | 20 | upgraded |
| Reimei | RIKEN | 20 | operational |