Qutech and Intel cut the quantum computer’s wires

Qutech and Intel jointly designed a qubit-controlling chip destined to solve the quantum computer’s wiring bottleneck. Currently, each qubit in a quantum computer is addressed individually, by a single wire. “This stands in the way of a scalable quantum computer since millions of qubits would require millions of wires,” explains lead investigator Lieven Vandersypen of Qutech. The solution: taking the control unit inside the cryogenic vessel, where the qubits reside.

Researchers and engineers from Qutech and Intel, therefore, designed a control chip that can withstand the extreme cold. Named Horse Ridge after the coldest place in Oregon, the CMOS IC is based on Intel’s 22nm low-power FinFET technology. “As electronic devices operate very differently at cryogenic temperatures, we used special techniques in the chip design both to ensure the right chip operation and to drive the qubits with high accuracy,” says co-lead investigator Edoardo Charbon.

Ultimately, the controller chip and the qubits can be integrated on the same die (as they’re all fabricated in silicon) or package, thus further relieving the wiring bottleneck.