High-Throughput Quantum Chip Diagnostics

Project Information

HTQC-Diagnostics

Grant agreement ID: 190152156

DOI

10.3030/190152156

Project closed

EC signature date 25 July 2023

Start date 1 August 2023

End date 30 June 2025

Funded under

• The European Innovation Council (EIC)

Total cost

€ 3 571 428,75

EU contribution

€ 2 499 999,00

Coordinated by

ORANGE QUANTUM SYSTEMS OPERATIONAL BV
Netherlands

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - HTQC-Diagnostics (High-Throughput Quantum Chip Diagnostics)

Reporting period: 2024-05-01 to 2025-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Computing power has grown exponentially for decades closely following Moore’s law, but progress is slowing down, and it is time for new ideas. Quantum computers based on qubits can extend the realm of possibilities unavailable to conventional computers based on bits. The market opportunity for quantum computers is huge, but the tools to transition from academic research to industry-grade quantum chip development are lacking. For example, testing the quality of a quantum chip requires months of work by highly specialized quantum engineers in a fully equipped quantum research lab. Orange Quantum Systems (OrangeQS) is revolutionizing this practice with our turnkey high-throughput quantum chip test system OrangeQS MAX. Once a quantum chip is fabricated, you insert it, and the system will run a comprehensive set of proprietary diagnostic protocols to ensure deployment readiness. Our solution is fully automated and orders of magnitude faster than standard practices. With the EIC support, we started on an exponential development roadmap, akin to a Moore's law for quantum computers.
OrangeQS accelerates the development, manufacturing and deployment of quantum computers by providing a diagnostic system for analysing the quality and improving the performance of quantum chips. Our OrangeQS MAX system for quantum chip diagnostics brings together all the necessary specific expertise in quantum device measurement & control, software & systems engineering, data analysis & quantum information processing together with control electronics, cryogenics and interconnects in a small footprint setup. The prototype of our R&D focused single-chip diagnostics system (with a capacity of 2 chips/week & 5 qubits/chip) has established a solid technological basis (TRL6) for this project. With EIC support, we initiate the execution of our roadmap towards multi-chip testing (100x throughput) and wafer-level testing (10000x throughput).
As Moore's Law is slowing down, the rise of IoT, Big Data and AI are increasing pressure on environment and society. Meanwhile, newly emerging quantum computation can contribute significantly to the goals of the EU green deal, sustainable development and digital sovereignty. This decade will see the development towards quantum accelerated supercomputers, with QPUs deployed next to other computing resources, like CPUs and GPUs. While EU quantum researchers are on par with their colleagues in US and China, the fact that Europe has been lagging in commercializing quantum technologies are currently being remedied by EU initiatives such as quantum Flagship (€1B) and national quantum plans (such as Germany: €2B, France: €1.8B Netherlands: €0.7B). With a strong development ecosystem, Europe has a promising edge in quantum technology. At the heart of this ecosystem, OrangeQS aims to put our diagnostics system into the service of the European quantum industry.
By encoding knowledge and expertise of PhD level experimental physics in automated characterization and calibration protocols, we reduce the entry barrier to quantum technology, making jobs in the emerging quantum industry more accessible, thereby reducing inequality and stimulating economic growth. We strengthen Europe’s leadership in semiconductors with technology vital for scaling quantum computing, unlocking real-world solutions in climate, clean energy, and health.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The objective of the EIC 190152156 - HTQC-Diagnostics project was to develop a high- throughput Quantum Diagnostics System capable of testing quantum chips on an industrial scale. In the first phase of the project the objective was to design and build a multichip demonstrator for testing multiple quantum chips in a single test cycle.
A market survey & analysis was performed where potential customers were interviewed to identify their needs and determine the value a Quantum Diagnostics System provides to them. The resulting market report described the finetuned user requirements for the Quantum Diagnostics System in such a way that it will maximize the added value for the targeted market segments. This ensures that the developed product is commercially viable.
The demonstrator was designed, assembled, and built to be operational and capable of characterizing two QPUs with 5 qubits each in one test cycle. The diagnostics software allowed us to report all the metrics of interest. It’s worth highlighting that the test time per chip (for executing diagnostics experiments) has reduced significantly from around one day per qubit at the start to 2-3 hours per qubit by the end of the demonstration phase. The pilot customer required throughput of 150 qubits per 10 days. A 150 qubit quantum processor is difficult to acquire, therefore it was agreed to test 150-qubit readiness in the qualification phase by demonstrating the test system capabilities on 20-qubit test chips provided by our customer and which led to a successful conclusion of the project, including several learnings for the next generation of quantum chip test systems.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The project was executed in three phases: Demonstrator, Prototype, Qualification.
Each of the phases have resulted in creating or updating the following proprietary deliverables:
- Detailed design documentation for each subsystem.
- Bill-of-Materials for the demonstrator system.
- Component, factory and site acceptance test procedures.
- Patents on quantum chip testing procedures as well their implementation.
At first the high-throughput Quantum Diagnostics System concept was successfully demonstrated. In the prototype phase, the focus was on increasing the number of qubits as well as the complexity of the quantum chip under test. Within the qualification phase of the system, the product OrangeQS MAX was publicly launched and tested at the site of a pilot customer and tested on a 20-qubit chip.
To operate the high-throughput diagnostics system, an operating system named OrangeQS Juice was developed. This operating system is now a standalone open-source framework for quantum R&D labs, used and further developed by a global community of leading academic groups and research institutes.

OrangeQS MAX