Practical implementation of a densely connected, parametric 6 qubit machine.

Scaling NISQ-era quantum processors introduces a range of engineering and design parameters that influence circuit depth, gate speed and fidelity, coherence times, readout performance, and the demands on large-scale RF control systems. In this talk, we address these through a modular and scalable superconducting qubit processor architecture inspired by McKinney et al.  (arXiv:2409.18262). Our current prototype is comprised of six transmon qubits in two linked modules, with parametric qubit-qubit couplings enabled by two SNAIL elements. We report on device characterization, including spectroscopy, coherence measurements, & cross-talk analysis as initial benchmarks and validate the designed Hamiltonian parameters. We further demonstrate iSWAP interactions driven by 3-wave parametric conversion processes and investigate the ability to repeat qubit frequencies in adjacent modules.  Additionally, we evaluate the RF control and readout chain developed using the open-source QICK platform (arXiv:2311.17171v1) and discuss its capabilities & implications for scaling. We conclude with efforts toward parallel two-qubit gate implementation and discuss future directions.