This Chip From Intel Will Make Quantum Computers Commercially Available

Despite all the achievements made recently, quantum computers are still at the infant stage of development. Microsoft, Google, IBM, and other companies interested in this field have Intel to thank for its latest chip, which can make managing qubits much simpler.

The new chip is called Horse Ridge, named after the region with the lowest temperature in Oregon. The name is also a reference to what it does, which is to manage quantum computers’ cooling.

As stated by Intel, the new chip is made to simplify the management and control of the quantum circuit. It is as big as a coffee cup coaster but it can take over the job of an external device.

The production of the chip has the participation of QuTech’s research partners and the 22nm FinFET technology of Intel. The chip is the answer to the biggest obstacle to make quantum computing commercially available, interconnections and electronic controls.

Horse Ridge is able to lower the complexity of the engineering of quantum control, reducing the quantity from a refrigerator with hundreds of cables leaving and entering to one unit only working close to the quantum device.

The qubit control in the cryogenic cooler is simplified as the chip can also be a processor for radio frequencies. Intel programs Horse Ridge with the instructions corresponding to the operations of the qubit.

As a cooler that can keep the whole device working at around -273.15 degrees Celsius is a vital part in a quantum computer. Intel’s chip is designed to have certain features allowing them to operate at that specific temperature.

This is why Intel wants to make the chip work on and silicon spin qubits and cryogenic controls at that same temperature, reducing the need for cooling.