(EETimes) Intel has unveiled a new hardware solution focused on quantum computing: Horse Ridge is the first cryogenically-controlled processor designed to accelerate the development of full-stack quantum computing systems.
Quantum computers can perform a large number of calculations at the same time, but in doing so, they generate excessive amounts of heat. Consequently, to be effective, they must operate at temperatures close to absolute zero (i.e., very close to -273.15 °C). These devices tend to require hundreds of cables in and out of the cryogenic fridge to control the quantum processor.
Horse Ridge, named after one of the coldest places in Oregon (where Intel has some of its most extensive operation), was developed together with QuTech researchers, a partnership between TU Delft and TNO (Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research). In the race to create quantum computers, many are focusing on implementations in silicon, in large part because silicon quantum computers can be made using common CMOS silicon processing. Horse Ridge was manufactured using Intel’s 22-nanometer FinFET process. This should dramatically accelerate Intel’s ability to design, test, and optimize a commercial quantum computer.
Intel’s Cyrogenic Chip for Quantum Computing
