QuantrolOx Joins ARCTIC Consortium with 35 Leading Quantum Organizations to Advance Spin Qubits Towards the Million-Qubit Quantum Computer Era.  

A joint EU step towards the era of cryogenic classical and quantum microsystems, a giant leap towards… 

IMEC is leading Europe’s first Chips Joint Undertaking project to develop components and systems for controlling and interfacing scaled-up quantum computers and other cryogenic microsystems.

The ARCTIC (“Advanced Research on Cryogenic Technologies for Innovative Computing”) project intends to establish a complete and comprehensive European supply chain for cryogenic photonics, microelectronics, and, in general, cryo-microsystems around the emerging quantum computing industry and different cryo-enabled ICT applications.

“The performance requirements from electronic devices and circuits at cryogenic temperatures are quite different compared to those at room temperature. Especially when interfacing very sensitive applications such as quantum processors, all aspects of microelectronic technologies need to be optimized” says Alexander Grill, scientific leader of ARCTIC at IMEC.

To be useful in real-world applications, quantum computers would require thousands to millions of physical qubits, which, besides being a huge number in itself, also require an enormous amount of control and interfacing machinery to efficiently operate and control the quantum computer. Usually, this machinery is operated at room temperature. However, quantum computers based on qubits are operated close to absolute zero Kelvin temperatures inside a cryostat. When upscaling the number of qubits, the number of possible signal lines fed into the cryostat is limited. This is due to the restricted space, the heat transported through the wires, and the signal integrity (due to long wires).

To overcome these constraints, ARCTIC brings together 36 partners from 11 countries, coming from industry, academia, and leading RTOs to establish a complete and comprehensive European supply chain for cryogenic photonics, microelectronics, and, in general, cryo-microsystems around the emerging quantum computing industry and different cryo-enabled ICT applications. This includes the development of materials and fabrication processes, novel simulation approaches, heterogeneous packaging, and the optimization of devices and circuits specifically designed for cryogenic operation.

ARCTIC brings together technology developers, technology integrators, modelers, designers, system/application players, and end users to ensure smooth interfacing between respective layers. At the same time, we focus a large fraction of the effort on missing links – among others in the cryo-modeling and standardization space. In addition, we strongly leverage the unique R&D ecosystem in Europe, with RTOs collaborating and forming the bridge between the academic innovation models and the industrial valorization – the latter both at (many) SMEs and large industrial companies at once.

QuantrolOx’s main contributions to this project will be the development of algorithms for automated spin device characterization and qubit control. The goal is to reduce device characterization time through automation and multiplexing solutions, enhancing throughput and accelerating the R&D cycle of CMOS quantum dot devices. This includes integrating machine learning-based algorithms for characterizing and controlling qubits on devices from SemiQon and Quobly into test systems hosted at TNO and Qblox. Additionally, QuantrolOx will lead projects to demonstrate advanced qubit control and rapidly test and analyze multiple CMOS quantum dot devices simultaneously.

The expected project outcomes are considered important enablers for highly demanded technologies that can resolve existing problems in areas such as computational chemistry, bio and life sciences, cryptography needed for data protection, and cyber security.

You can find more information on LinkedIn.

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