Intel Labs today unveiled ‘Horse Ridge’, calling it a first-of-its-kind cryogenic control chip that is expected to hasten the development of full-stack quantum computing systems.
Intel made the announcement in a press release. The chip maker said Horse Ridge would enable control of multiple quantum bits (qubits) and set a clear path toward scaling larger systems, a major step in the practical applicability of quantum computing.
Horse Ridge has been jointly developed by Intel’s research collaborators at QuTech, a partnership between TU Delft, and TNO (Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research). Horse Ridge
In the race to capture and unleash the power and potential of quantum computing, researchers have largely focused on qubit fabrication, building test chips that demonstrate the exponential power of a small number of qubits operating in superposition. But, said Intel, it realised a “major bottleneck” on this path of realising commercial-scale quantum computing. Horse Ridge, said Intel, was the “elegant solution” that would enable the company to control multiple qubits and set a clear path toward scaling future systems to larger qubit counts — a major milestone on the path to quantum practicality.
While there has been a lot of emphasis on the qubits themselves, the ability to control many qubits at the same time had been a challenge for the industry. Intel recognized that quantum controls were an essential piece of the puzzle we needed to solve in order to develop a large-scale commercial quantum system. That’s why we are investing in quantum error correction and controls. With Horse Ridge, Intel has developed a scalable control system that will allow us to significantly speed up testing and realize the potential of quantum computing.
–Jim Clarke, Intel’s director of Quantum Hardware
Image Credit: Intel