Intel’s latest quantum control chip manipulates qubits with radio pulses
+ The issue Intel sees is that as quantum computers grow more powerful and the number of qubits they contain increases, the number of cables necessary to link the qubits to the control electronics will have to increase in lockstep. Past a certain point, the amount of wiring required by a quantum computer could simply exceed the available space. The company therefore believes current cabling methods are a barrier to building large-scale quantum computers.
“We believe that increasing the number of qubits without addressing the resulting wiring complexities is akin to owning a sports car, but constantly being stuck in traffic,” said Jim Clarke, the director of Intel’s quantum hardware research group. Intel, Clarke added, expects Horse Ridge II to “bring us one step closer toward the development of a ‘traffic-free’ integrated quantum circuit.”
+ Enter the Horse Ridge II chip. It serves the same function as the traditional control electronics used to orchestrate qubits today, but instead of interacting with the qubits via cables, it performs the task wirelessly using radio frequency pulses. Intel hopes that approach will be the key to reducing cabling requirements.
+ The company says that Horse Ridge II is currently capable of operating at temperatures as low as 4 kelvins above absolute zero. Intel hopes eventually to place the chip directly inside the cryogenic refrigerators in which quantum computers keep their qubits, which operate at millikelvin temperatures even closer to absolute zero.
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