Details of Intel's first cryogenic qubit control chip `` Horse Ridge '' revealed

Intel has announced details on the cryogenic qubit control chip ' Horse Ridge '.

Intel and QuTech Unveil Details of First Cryogenic Quantum Computing Control Chip, 'Horse Ridge' | Intel Newsroom
https://newsroom.intel.com/news/intel-qutech-unveil-details-first-cryogenic-quantum-computing-control-chip-horse-ridge/

`` Horse Ridge '' is a chip that Intel generates and controls qubits using a cryogenic environment, jointly developed with the research institute of Delft University of Technology `` QuTech '' and the Netherlands Applied Science Research Organization (TNO) . Intel notes Horse Ridge, 'Accelerates the development of full-stack quantum computing systems and is an important step in the development of commercial quantum computers.'

Horse Ridge seems to be an SoC that addresses the three fundamental issues of 'scalability', 'fidelity' and 'flexibility' when building a powerful quantum system that can demonstrate the practicality of quantum computers. `` To greatly simplify the complex control electronics required for quantum computing systems, reduce set-up time, improve qubit performance, and run real-world applications on quantum computing, '' Intel said. Qubit performance required and efficient scaling of the number of qubits required. '

Horse Ridge addresses the issues of 'scalability', 'fidelity' and 'flexibility' that have been issues in demonstrating the practicality of quantum computers as follows.

◆ Scalability
Horse Ridge is an SoC manufactured using Intel's 22nm FinFET Low Power CMOS technology. The four radio frequency channels are integrated into a single device, and each channel can control up to 32 qubits (qubits) using 'frequency multiplexing.' Note that 'frequency multiplexing' is a technique that divides the total available bandwidth into a series of non-overlapping frequency bands, each of which is used to transmit a separate signal.

By utilizing four channels, Horse Ridge can control up to 128 qubits with a single SoC, which can significantly reduce the number of cables and devices required so far. By slimming, Horse Ridge is much more scalable than before.

◆ Fidelity
As the number of qubits handled increases, a different issue arises than the capacity and operation of quantum computing systems. One of the potential effects of increasing the number of qubits is 'decreased qubit fidelity and performance.' This is a phenomenon that occurs when controlling many qubits at different frequencies, and is a crosstalk between qubits.

In developing Horse Ridge, Intel is optimizing multiplexing techniques to allow systems to scale and reduce errors from ' phase shifts .' This will enable Horse Ridge to adjust various frequencies with high precision, and quantum computing systems will be able to adapt to phase shifts that control multiple qubits on the same radio frequency line and automatically correct them. is. This allows us to address the issue of fidelity in qubit theory.

◆ Flexibility
Horse Ridge can cover a wide frequency range, so it can control both superconducting and spin qubits. Usually, superconducting qubits operate at about 6-7 GHz, while spin qubits operate at about 13-20 GHz.

Intel says that it is working on the development of silicon spin qubits that can operate in a very low temperature environment of 1 Kelvin (minus 272.15 degrees Celsius). The study highlights the flexibility of Horse Ridge by integrating silicon spin qubit terminals with Horse Ridge's cryogenic control capabilities, which will allow qubits and control to be provided in one reasonable package.

The technical details of Horse Ridge are outlined in a research paper published on February 18, 2020.