In February of this year, Intel collaborated with QuTech, a quantum technology research institute co-founded by Delft University of Technology and the Netherlands National Academy of Applied Sciences, to demonstrate that a low-temperature controlled quantum processor code-named "Horse Ridge" could process 2 qubits. Earlier, Intel and QuTech jointly published a paper in Nature demonstrating that qubit processing could be successfully controlled at 128 degree Kelvin (approximately -1 degrees Celsius).
Previously, to successfully control qubit processing, the qubits had to be cooled to near absolute zero, or 0 degrees Kelvin, or -273.15 degrees Celsius. Otherwise, the quantum information stored in the qubits would be lost. However, the collaboration between Intel and QuTech has successfully achieved the goal of controlling qubit processing at a "relatively high temperature" of just 1 degree Kelvin.
At the same time, the results of this collaboration have achieved the ability to enable two qubits to perform logical operations in a quantum circuit at a temperature of 1.1 degrees Kelvin, while retaining up to 99.3% of the quantum information within a single qubit. Between 0.45 and 1.25 degrees Kelvin, the spin qubit is minimally affected.
Prior to this, controlling two qubits was only possible at a temperature of 0.40 degrees Kelvin, which means that the results of the collaboration between Intel and QuTech are indeed a significant breakthrough.
Currently, companies including Intel, IBM, and Google are actively investing in quantum computing, hoping to leverage it to address larger data processing applications and transform computing technologies based on massive data analysis. However, the difficulty of controlling qubits, their current ability to operate only at extremely low temperatures, and the difficulty of storing quantum information have driven continued investment in advanced semiconductor and superconductor technologies, driving growth in related packaging and interconnect technologies.
Intel previously highlighted its cryogenically controlled quantum processor, codenamed "Horse Ridge," built on CMOS technology based on Intel's 22nm FinFET process. It integrates four radio frequency (RF) channels into a single device, each capable of controlling up to 32 qubits through frequency multiplexing, allowing the processor to process a total of 128 qubits. Furthermore, it can divide all available bandwidth into a series of non-overlapping quantum computing bandwidths, each carrying independent data content.
Intel also optimizes qubit fidelity and performance through multiplexing technology, allowing processor operations to scale and reduce errors caused by phase shift, thereby avoiding crosstalk between qubits when controlling multiple qubits at different frequencies. This includes enabling high-precision tuning of various frequencies, allowing quantum systems to adjust and automatically correct phase shifts when controlling multiple qubits at the same radio frequency, thereby improving the fidelity of the qubit's quantum gate.
