It will now be possible to commercially build quantum computers with 64 fully controllable qubits.
Superconducting qubits have led the quantum computing race for the last few decades, but have yet to scale to truly useful qubit counts because of scaling bottlenecks. Previous generation devices have been planar: the connections between the qubits and the outside world were routed to the edges of the chip – this, however, limits the number of qubits possible.
In response, QuantWare has developed a patented 3D technology that routes the connections vertically, making it possible to scale superconducting quantum processors to thousands of qubits - opening the door to ‘quantum advantage' where quantum computers will overtake the most powerful classical computer.
The processor, according to the company, marks a significant advance in commercial quantum computing because it is the first device commercially available that features this technology.
The quantum processor features 64 fully controllable qubits, which is a device with more than twice the number of qubits than the previously largest available quantum processor. Because the qubits are fully controllable, they are suitable for powerful error-correction schemes. Such a design requires more connections per qubit than what’s available with fixed frequency qubits, and as such were impossible at a scale of 64 qubits with conventional planar devices. QuantWare has managed to unlock these powerful devices for the quantum community by bringing its technology to the market at a 10x lower price point than competing solutions.
QuantWare’s aim is to provide easy-to-use, increasingly powerful and affordable quantum processors. Last year, it was selected to deliver quantum processing units for Israel’s first fully functional quantum computer.
“The technology on which Tenor is built will massively scale the size of the devices available to the quantum market in the coming years”, said Matthijs Rijlaarsdam, CEO of QuantWare. “There are scores of great quantum computing solutions but there hasn't been the tech available to enable them to significantly scale - until now.
“Similar to how the emergence of fabless companies revolutionised the semicon industry by significantly lowering the bar to entry, we will be able to provide the design elements and fabrication that will enable many more quantum startups to scale, innovate and compete.”
