2024-09-02 09:00:00
Extreme cold. This is one of the main differences between a quantum chip and a conventional processor. In most of the technologies explored, qubits – the quantum equivalent of processors – must be kept at absolutely low temperatures to function. Colder than those measured in the interstellar vacuum. This major constraint poses a number of obstacles. Which must be unlocked to make the quantum computer an industrial reality.
It is with this objective that the European Arctic project (for Advanced Research on Cryogenic Technologies for Innovative Computing) was launched in early 2024. This three-year program, which is very structuring for the ecosystem, mobilizes an envelope of 34.6 million euros (including 11 provided by the European Commission) and 36 partners, including 23 companies, from 11 countries.
Getting closer to semiconductor methods
The French delegation reflects the diversity of participants, between young shoots, research institutes and semiconductor manufacturers: two start-ups, Quobly and Alice & Bob, the CEA and STMicroelectronics.The objective and interest of this program is the creation of a value chain with different partnerssays Nicolas Daval, project manager at Quobly. We came with historical partners like the CEA, a major player in Arctic, and others who could become one. This project allows us to test ourselves and can lead to closer collaborations.»
In its working group, the Grenoble start-up is cooperating with the Finnish QuantrolOx and Qblox, a spin-off from the Dutch University of Delft. On the agenda, a challenge at the frontier of research and industry, as quantum computing knows so well how to do.We are looking to test our wafers on a large scale directly after manufacturing.says Nicolas Daval. This is a major challenge for the control and improvement of our processes.»
What does this have to do with cryogenics?To test a qubit to the end, we are forced to go down to low temperature“, recalls the manager. Problem: cooling a system to a few milli Kelvins takes several hours. The objective is therefore to “test everything you can at high temperature“, he explains. To save time and get closer to the methods and yields of the semiconductor industry.
Extremely sensitive systems
«Arctic is a huge project because it tackles so many topics.“, notes Cécile Perrault, head of innovation and partnerships at Alice & Bob. As proof, the project led by the Parisian start-up has, apart from the cold, nothing to do with that of its compatriot. Its aims to improve amplifiers (or TWPA, for traveling waves parametric amplifier), “a very important component in using a superconducting quantum computer” she said.
To understand the importance of this element, we must remember why quantum chips are immersed in absolute cold. They are extremely sensitive systems, which even solar radiation can disrupt. The cold and vacuum that reign in the heart of a quantum computer serve, among other things, to cut off its chip from the outside world.
But what is useful in one sense penalizes in the other: how can you read the information from the chip if it is in a sealed container? This is the work of the amplifier, which captures the discrete signal from the qubits to send it up to the upper stages of the computer – where it is less cold – to the control electronics.
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«For the moment, we are purchasing devices marketed in particular by the VTT research center in Finland and the SilentWaves start-up in France.notes Jean-Loup Ville, a physicist seconded to the project part-time by Alice & Bob. Everyone needs them, but they are still quite expensive – around 20,000 euros each – so we have to find a way to make them differently.»
Designing optimized amplifiers
The importance of the project in scaling up the technology is undeniable: if today a TWPA can read signals from a maximum of eight qubits, this threshold will have to be raised. Because “It must be remembered that a useful quantum computer has thousands of qubits”notes Cécile Perrault, and that it is impossible to install hundreds of amplifiers around the chip.
While VTT is directly involved in the project, SilentWaves is only participating through the CEA, from which it originated. Both are working on new designs for optimized amplifiers.We are here to ensure that it is not just a research project, we require them to have industrial rigor in their manufacturing processes.“, says the manager. “Industrialization is what is aimed at in the end“, adds Nicolas Daval of Quobly.
The scale of the Arctic Project highlights the number of challenges that remain to be overcome in making quantum computing an industrial technology.The quantum computer needs many interconnected components that must remain perfectunderlines Jean-Loup Ville. The amplifiers, the control electronics, the cooling systems… Everything is being created and we have to manage to debug everything at once.»
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