Recently, Intel announced that it has partnered with QuTech, a quantum computing research center in the Netherlands, to successfully manufacture the first large-scale silicon qubit.
A wafer containing massive silicon qubits, picture from Intel
The manufacture of quantum computers is inseparable from qubits. Silicon qubits are single electron spin qubits captured in silicon-based nanoscale devices. One of the main advantages of a silicon-based nanoscale device is that it is similar to conventional transistors, so the knowledge, skills, and equipment in the semiconductor field can potentially be applied to the production of high-yield, low-flaw qubit devices.
The first large-scale silicon qubit was completed by Intel and QuTech at intel's D1 manufacturing facility in Hillsborough, Oregon. QuTech was formed by The Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in the Netherlands and the Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) in the Netherlands. Published in Nature Electronics, the results are the first peer-reviewed study by Intel to demonstrate the success of making qubits on 300mm silicon wafers.
Image from Nature Electronics
It is reported that the above-mentioned production process can use multiple silicon spin qubits on a single wafer to make more than 10,000 arrays, and the chip yield is more than 95%. In terms of the number and yield of qubits, the research results are significantly higher than the current research results of universities and laboratories.
The process uses transistor manufacturing techniques, including optical lithography, to produce silicon spin qubits and is identical to the devices used in Intel's latest generation of complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) chips. This research is a key step on the road to quantum chip scale, showing that it is ultimately possible for qubits to be produced in the same industrial manufacturing equipment, along with traditional chips.
"Quantum computing has the potential to deliver exponential performance for specific applications in high-performance computing," said James Clarke, Intel's director of quantum hardware, "and our research proves that producing a comprehensive quantum computer is achievable in the future and can be produced in today's chip factories." We look forward to continuing our partnership with QuTech to leverage our expertise in silicon manufacturing to unlock the full potential of quantum technology." ”
Previously, to accelerate the development of quantum devices, Intel is also working with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and is expected to deliver its first quantum computing test bench to the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory within 2022 for manufacturing and testing new quantum materials and devices.