A survey of universal quantum von Neumann architecture

The existence of universal quantum computers has been theoretically well established. However, building up a real quantum computer system not only relies on the theory of universality, but also needs methods to satisfy requirements on other features, such as programmability, modularity, scalability, etc. To this end, we study the recently proposed model of quantum von Neumann architecture, by putting it in a practical and broader setting, namely, the hierarchical design of a computer system. We analyze the structures of quantum CPU and quantum control unit, and draw their connections with computational advantages. We also point out that a recent demonstration of our model would require less than 20 qubits.