Horse Ridge, Manipulating Qubit States with Electromagnetic Pulses
Unlike existing quantum computers, it is not less than 1K.
Operating at 4K to reduce system cooling burden


If you actually see a quantum computer, you won't think of it as a computer. It's still being tested, and its form doesn't do anything like the computers we know of.

Quantum computers must minimize the movement of atoms as much as possible, because the more atoms move, the higher the error rate. The lower the Kelvin (K), the closer it gets to absolute zero, the slower the movement of atoms.

Quantum computers, which must rely on large, complex cooling systems, usually take the form of large cylindrical refrigerators suspended in mid-air.

To solve this problem, Intel Labs announced on the 10th the industry's first cryogenic control chip, codenamed 'Horse Ridge', that will accelerate a full-stack quantum computing system.

Horse Ridge has brought about the possibility of massive scalability of quantum computing systems by controlling a large number of quantum bits (qubits).

Developed in collaboration with QuTech at TU Delft in the Netherlands, Horse Ridge is fabricated using FinFET technology on Intel's 22nm process.

Intel expects that manufacturing such control chips in-house will accelerate its internal capabilities to design, test and optimize commercial quantum computers.


Cables, a stumbling block to commercializing quantum computers
Intel is in the early stages of quantum hardware development, including silicon spin qubits and superconducting qubit systems, and is seeing no barriers to commercializing quantum computers. It was immediately revealed that these were interconnected and control electrodes.

Quantum computers have the potential to solve problems that conventional computers cannot handle by taking advantage of quantum physics, which allows qubits to exist in multiple forms at the same time. Qubits can perform large-scale calculations simultaneously, allowing complex problems to be processed more quickly.

So far, researchers have focused on building small-scale quantum systems to demonstrate the potential of quantum devices. In doing so, they have relied on conventional electronics tools and high-performance computing rack-scale instruments to connect the quantum systems inside cryogenic refrigerators with conventional computing devices that control qubit performance and program the systems.

These devices are custom-built to control individual qubits, and hundreds of cables must be run in and out of the refrigerator to control the quantum processor. Because of these control cables, quantum computers have been difficult to commercialize, let alone prove practical.

Commercial quantum computers require millions of qubits and a corresponding amount of control cable, and even demonstrations of quantum computer practicality use hundreds to thousands of qubits.

With Horse Ridge, Intel has simplified the electronic control unit required to operate a quantum system. Replacing bulky devices with a system-on-chip (SoC) simplifies system design, and sophisticated signal processing techniques can reduce setup time. It also increases qubit performance and allows for larger qubit units.


Qubit control device as close as possible to the qubit
Horse Ridge is a highly integrated, mixed-signal SoC that embeds qubit control units inside a quantum refrigerator, bringing the qubits as close together as possible. This reduces the complexity of quantum control engineering by integrating hundreds of cables inside and outside a refrigerator into a single integrated package that operates near the quantum device.

Designed to act as a radio frequency (RF) processor that controls the qubits operating in the refrigerator, Horse Ridge is programmed with commands corresponding to basic qubit manipulations, which can then be converted into electromagnetic pulses to manipulate the state of the qubits.

Horse Ridge is designed to operate at 4K, which is just above absolute zero. At absolute zero, atoms stop moving.

Current quantum computers operate in the millikelvin (mK) range, just above absolute zero. However, silicon spin qubits can operate at temperatures above 1 K, which could alleviate some of the cooling burden on quantum computing systems.

Intel aims to have the cryogenic control unit and silicon spin qubits operating at the same temperature, allowing for a solution that combines qubits and control functions in a single package.

“Achieving the ability to control multiple qubits simultaneously has been an industry-wide challenge,” said Jim Clarke, general manager of quantum hardware at Intel.

He said, “Quantum control is essential for developing large-scale commercial quantum systems,” and “This is why Intel is investing in quantum error correction and control.”