Intel introduced the first 17-qubit quantum chip
Two years after investing $ 50 million in quantum research, Intel introduced the first 17-qubit chip. The company noted that they would give the device to their partners from QuTech Research Institute. About what constitutes a chip, let's talk further.
/ Flickr / walter / CC
The architecture of quantum computers is fundamentally different from the architecture of modern PCs. Classical computing systems encode information using bits, while quantum ones operate on qubits, which can be zero, one, or any other value between them. If we imagine that a bit is a horizontal line, then the qubit will be the sphere within which its values ​​lie. More information about quantum computing can be found at the links here and here .
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This property makes quantum computers more suitable than electronic computing systems for a specific range of tasks: working with the genome, modeling complex molecules, and predicting chemical properties, etc.
One of the features of the new 17-qubit CPU from Intel is the case. The optimum working temperature for qubits is 20 millikelvin. The company notes, it is 250 times colder than in space. The new chip is designed so that it can withstand this temperature without damage.
The new architecture also has protection from radio frequency interference, which overlap qubits, and a special interconnect layout that increases the chip capacity by 10 times, compared to classic wired contacts. According to representatives of Intel, the new development will allow to create quantum integrated circuits. You can find videos with this chip's boxing on QuTech's YouTube channel.
The work of Intel and QuTech goes beyond the simple development of quantum devices. Companies are engaged in designing the entire stack of quantum systems - from qubit-based devices to hardware and software architectures controlling them.
Moreover, Intel explores several types of qubits: superconducting qubits involved in the new chip, and spin qubits theoretically reproducible in silicon using the already familiar process technology. The company says they want to extend Moore’s law.
Intel is not the only company actively pursuing the development of quantum technologies. For example, earlier this year, IBM introduced a 16-qubit quantum chip. And Google plans to open to researchers access to its quantum systems in the cloud. Rigetti Computing Inc. at the beginning of the year, collected 64 million dollars to develop a quantum machine, which will overtake the most powerful supercomputers in solving some problems.
Canadian company D-Wave Systems has already announced that it has built a fully-functional quantum computer, although their system uses a slightly different method — quantum annealing . Other companies, including Microsoft, also report progress in their own research.
As for Intel and QuTech, whose core is made by teachers at Delft Technical University, they now plan to find out what software they need to “squeeze out” a maximum of 17 qubits. They will also begin to look for new areas for the application of their chip.
PS Another couple of materials from our blog:
/ Flickr / walter / CC
The architecture of quantum computers is fundamentally different from the architecture of modern PCs. Classical computing systems encode information using bits, while quantum ones operate on qubits, which can be zero, one, or any other value between them. If we imagine that a bit is a horizontal line, then the qubit will be the sphere within which its values ​​lie. More information about quantum computing can be found at the links here and here .
')
This property makes quantum computers more suitable than electronic computing systems for a specific range of tasks: working with the genome, modeling complex molecules, and predicting chemical properties, etc.
One of the features of the new 17-qubit CPU from Intel is the case. The optimum working temperature for qubits is 20 millikelvin. The company notes, it is 250 times colder than in space. The new chip is designed so that it can withstand this temperature without damage.
The new architecture also has protection from radio frequency interference, which overlap qubits, and a special interconnect layout that increases the chip capacity by 10 times, compared to classic wired contacts. According to representatives of Intel, the new development will allow to create quantum integrated circuits. You can find videos with this chip's boxing on QuTech's YouTube channel.
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The work of Intel and QuTech goes beyond the simple development of quantum devices. Companies are engaged in designing the entire stack of quantum systems - from qubit-based devices to hardware and software architectures controlling them.
Moreover, Intel explores several types of qubits: superconducting qubits involved in the new chip, and spin qubits theoretically reproducible in silicon using the already familiar process technology. The company says they want to extend Moore’s law.
Market
Intel is not the only company actively pursuing the development of quantum technologies. For example, earlier this year, IBM introduced a 16-qubit quantum chip. And Google plans to open to researchers access to its quantum systems in the cloud. Rigetti Computing Inc. at the beginning of the year, collected 64 million dollars to develop a quantum machine, which will overtake the most powerful supercomputers in solving some problems.
Canadian company D-Wave Systems has already announced that it has built a fully-functional quantum computer, although their system uses a slightly different method — quantum annealing . Other companies, including Microsoft, also report progress in their own research.
As for Intel and QuTech, whose core is made by teachers at Delft Technical University, they now plan to find out what software they need to “squeeze out” a maximum of 17 qubits. They will also begin to look for new areas for the application of their chip.
PS Another couple of materials from our blog:
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/339832/
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