Universal Quantum puts ion trap, controls and modular links on a single chip

[Yasmin]

Universal Quantum has followed its record funding round with a hardware milestone. The Quantum Insider reports that the Sussex spin out has unveiled the iQPU, a trapped ion processor that combines control hardware, the compute surface and its UQConnect modular links on a single chip

The design uses a quantum charge coupled device architecture, where ions are moved around the chip between zones, and the active compute area is more than 400 square millimetres. Crucially, it is made on a commercial 200 millimetre semiconductor foundry line rather than in a specialist lab

The iQPU will go into systems for the German Aerospace Center, DLR, under two contracts worth €67 million. It comes shortly after the company announced its Series A round of more than $100 million

Chief executive and co-founder Sebastian Weidt said the question is no longer whether quantum computing can work, but how to build enough high quality qubits. Vice president of engineering Mike Newman said a scalable quantum computer cannot be assembled by adding complexity one qubit at a time. The announcement is based on a press release, gives no performance benchmarks, and a claimed interconnect world record has not been independently verified

Building trapped ion chips on standard foundry lines is exactly the kind of step needed to scale the technology. Integrating controls and links on the same chip should reduce the wiring problems that hold many platforms back. Benchmarks will be the next thing to watch

Can trapped ions scale through modular chips? And how important is using standard semiconductor foundries?

Universal Quantum Combines Ion Trap, Controls and Modular Links in New Chipthequantuminsider.com