Intel announced it has begun producing its latest silicon based quantum processors. The Tunnel Falls chip is a 12-qubit chip built to aid researchers and academics working in the quantum computing field. It's hoped the chip will accelerate the development of practical quantum computers in the years ahead.
It's a big deal because it uses current complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) manufacturing technology, and is available in volume. Don't expect to add one to your Newegg cart any time soon though. These chips are very much development tools and are being given away to researchers.
Much cutting edge quantum computing research has required the expensive and time consuming development of an application specific custom device. In other cases, developers have to adapt their software to run processes on a cloud service or within the constraints of the hardware that is available. That means limited flexibility.
According to Dr. Dwight Luhman, distinguished member of Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories, «Sandia National Laboratories is excited to be a recipient of the Tunnel Falls chip. The device is a flexible platform enabling quantum researchers at Sandia to directly compare different qubit encodings and develop new qubit operation modes, which was not possible for us previously.
»This level of sophistication allows us to innovate novel quantum operations and algorithms in the multi-qubit regime and accelerate our learning rate in silicon-based quantum systems."
Intel plans to use the information it learns from Tunnel Falls to assist in development of future quantum computing technologies. Its next-generation quantum chip based on Tunnel Falls is expected to be released in 2024.
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