Intel recently revealed its latest quantum chip, “Tunnel Falls,” marking a significant milestone in its quantum computing roadmap. This silicon-based chip boasts 12 qubits and is primarily intended as a research test chip rather than a commercially available product. With this release, Intel aims to advance its long-term strategy of developing a complete commercial quantum computing system. While there are still challenges to overcome on the path to a fault-tolerant quantum computer, the academic community can now explore this technology and accelerate research development.

Jim Clarke, Intel’s director of Quantum Hardware, emphasized that Tunnel Falls represents the company’s most advanced silicon spin qubit chip to date, drawing on Intel’s extensive experience in transistor design and manufacturing. He stated, “The release of the new chip is the next step in Intel’s long-term strategy to build a full-stack commercial quantum computing system. While there are still fundamental questions and challenges that must be solved along the path to a fault-tolerant quantum computer, the academic community can now explore this technology and accelerate research development.”

Although Tunnel Falls may appear underwhelming as a research test chip, it is a crucial foundation for future quantum computers. Before advancements can be made within quantum computing, it is essential to develop algorithms, learnings, and methodologies today. Quantum computing hardware production poses significant difficulties, which is why only a small number of prominent companies, including Intel, Microsoft, IBM, IonQ, and Google, are actively involved in developing such technology.

Intel’s strategy of using silicon spin qubits proves advantageous in this scenario. It leverages Intel’s expertise in chip manufacturing, allowing the company to apply its knowledge to improve yield rates. Tunnel Falls achieved an impressive 95% yield rate during fabrication, comparable to chips manufactured through the more common CMOS process. Intel’s qubit devices function as single electron transistors, enabling fabrication using a similar process flow to standard CMOS logic processing.

This strategic approach also offers scalability benefits, as Intel possesses one of the largest semiconductor factory footprints globally. With the appropriate tools and investments, Intel could rapidly scale up quantum processing unit (QPU) manufacturing for educational, research, and development purposes, eventually leading to full-scale industrial production. Intel’s choice of qubits aligns well with cutting-edge transistor fabrication, with one of Tunnel Falls’ qubits being roughly the size of a transistor. This compact design makes it up to 1 million times smaller than other qubit designs. Additionally, silicon spin qubits, which encode information based on the spin properties of a single electron, prove to be one of the smallest variations of qubits, enabling Intel to accommodate thousands or even millions of them to unlock the potential of quantum computing.

To bolster ongoing research efforts, Intel has partnered with the Laboratory for Physical Sciences (LPS) at the University of Maryland, specifically its Qubit Collaboratory (LQC), a national-level Quantum Information Sciences (QIS) Research Center. As part of this collaboration, Intel will participate in the Qubits for Computing Foundry (QCF) program, associated with the U.S. Army Research Office, to provide its new quantum chip to research laboratories.

While Intel firmly believes that silicon spin qubits outperform other technologies, it’s essential to recognize that this perspective aligns with the company’s interests and existing expertise. Intel aims to leverage its technological advancements and expertise to extract maximum value from silicon spin qubits.

By Impact Lab