Partnerships with the world’s leading chip maker accelerate the development of quantum devices.
Argonne is soon to receive an exclusive delivery.
This year, tech company Intel will deliver its first quantum computing test bed to the US Department of Energy.doea) Argonne National Laboratory, the host laboratory for Q-NEXT, a doe National Center for Quantum Informatics Research.
Intel’s Janet Roberts accommodates a lackluster refrigerator, which creates the ideal environment for a qubit display at Intel Labs’ Hillsboro, Oregon, campus. (Image by Walden Kirsch/Intel Corporation.)
The machine will be the first major component installed at Argonne’s Quantum Foundry, which will serve as a factory for manufacturing and testing new quantum materials and devices. It is expected to be completed this year.
Q-NEXT scientists will use Intel’s machine to run quantum algorithms on a real, brick-and-mortar quantum computing test bed instead of a simulated quantum environment. And Intel will get feedback from scientists on the quality of the machine’s components and its overall operation.
,I love working on challenging, interesting problems. I think building a practical quantum computer is one of the most challenging problems I’ve been presented with.” – Janet Roberts, Intel
,Realizing quantum computing will take a lot of people working together. We need to leverage everyone’s expertise,” said Janet Roberts, who leads Intel’s quantum measurement team. I,It is a kind of team sport. It’s a good area for collaboration in a pre-competitive space.”
The promise of quantum computing,The power of technology is widely publicized: a quantum computer would be able to solve problems that are impossible for today’s highest-performing computers. Its realization is expected to prove to be a boon not only for fundamental research but also for areas that touch our daily lives including medicine, logistics and finance.
diving deep into the science
Roberts controls the effort. Working with Q-NEXT scientists, she is currently setting up the test bed’s hardware, software, and all the programming needed to get it into operation.
The prospect of building a quantum computer was particularly attractive to Roberts, who always sought to understand how the physical world worked.
,I often look at things and find phrases that were further information,outside the scope of this book.’ I wanted to go deep enough into the science so that I could understand the full scope,” said Roberts, who earned his Ph.D. in physics just before joining Intel in 1995.
Her curiosity of nature extends beyond the laboratory. An avid snow skier, hiker, rock climber and mountain biker, Roberts is also a certified master scuba diver, with certifications in Deep and Wreck Diving. She has made more than 900 dives around the world, including Australia, the Caribbean, Chuuk, Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, Palau and the North American Northwest – often carrying 100 pounds of gear.
,I usually go scuba diving or plan to scuba dive,” she said.,It is a completely different world in water, with animals and plants unlike what we see on land. It is like being on another planet. It offers opportunities to live in different cultures as well as underwater environments. ,
As exciting as scuba diving has been for Roberts, the challenge of building a quantum computer can be beat.
,I love working on challenging, interesting problems,” she said. I,I think building a practical quantum computer is one of the most challenging problems I’ve been presented with.”
He was offered this offer in 2015, when Intel entered the quantum tech industry with the launch of its quantum computing program. Partnering with the Technical University of Delft, Intel began the program with the goal of applying high-volume manufacturing techniques to the manufacture of quantum devices.
Roberts was one of the first two engineers to join the company’s quantum computing team, which helped develop Intel’s qubits, the quantum analog of binary computing bits.
From semiconductor chips to spin qubits
Different types of qubits process data in different ways. Intel focuses on a class called spin qubits. These devices store information in a material’s spin, a special, fundamental characteristic of all nuclear and subatomic matter.
,It turns out that the spin qubits look like transistors, of which Intel ships 800 quadrillion each year. The similarity between the two technologies means we can take advantage of Intel’s expertise in semiconductor design and manufacturing of spin qubits,” said Roberts. I,We are using Intel’s infrastructure to help make quantum computing a reality.”
Qubit Development Intel’s Quantum R. is only a part ofAndD. Company R. also organizesAndD on quantum algorithms, controls electronics for quantum devices, and quantum interconnects, components that enable quantum information to be transmitted between different media and platforms.
,Intel’s work in developing quantum devices resonates strongly with Q-Next’s mission, and the company’s partnership has been invaluable to the collaboration,” said David Avschalom, director of Q-Next, an Argonne senior scientist. The Lew Family Professor and Vice Dean of Research and Infrastructure of the Pritzker School for Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago, and Founding Director of the Chicago Quantum Exchange.,The entire Q-Next-Intel team, including Janet, is committed to helping the Center achieve its goals. Once the semiconductor test bed is up and running, it’s going to open up all kinds of possibilities for creating new quantum materials and devices. ,
This work is supported by the US Department of Energy’s Office of Science’s National Quantum Information Science Research Centers.
Q-NEXT is a US Department of Energy National Quantum Information Science Research Center led by Argonne National Laboratory. Q-NEXT brings together world-class researchers from national laboratories, universities and US technology companies with the single goal of developing science and technology to control and distribute quantum information. The Q-NEXT collaborators and institutes will create two national foundries for quantum materials and devices, develop networks of sensors and secure communications systems, establish simulation and network testbeds, and train the next generation of quantum-ready workforces to support continuous U.S. scientists and To ensure economic leadership. in this rapidly growing field. For more information, visit https://www.q-next.org.
Source: ANL
