QHLS: An HLS Framework to Convert High-Level Descriptions to Quantum Circuits

Quantum computing has been shown to provide exponential performance improvements in several tasks, such as cryptography, healthcare, etc. This article presents a new framework for quantum high-level synthesis, called QHLS, that aims to facilitate programmers using quantum computers. Currently, quantum-computer programmers need extensive linear algebra and quantum mechanics knowledge, which can be challenging for traditional software programmers. Additionally, the current quantum programming paradigm is not scalable, and it can be difficult to combine quantum circuits to create a more complex functionality. QHLS addresses these issues by enabling the automatic generation of quantum circuit descriptions directly from high-level behavioral specifications (using languages like C or C++). This simplifies the programming of a quantum computer, making it more accessible to a wider range of programmers. Our experiments show that QHLS can successfully translate high-level software programs containing various types of statements (such as arithmetic, logical, and conditional operations) into functionally equivalent quantum circuits.