Quantum computers have an enormous potential to transform industries ranging from chemistry to finance. The quantum industry keeps reaching new milestones, and end-user interest is surging. To truly unlock the power of quantum computing, we need to 1) increase the quality and quantity of qubits in a single processor, and 2) make these QPUs widely available.
1./ Increase the quantity and quality of qubits
Current state of the art processors often rely on planar or 2.5D structures for control and readout. Nevertheless, this configuration is approaching scalability bottlenecks, given that the required number of lines increases quadratically, whereas the planar structure scales only linearly with the increasing qubit counts. Moreover, when increasing the number of qubits in a single processor, one will soon run into issues with yield. The yield of a qubit plane is dependent on the probability that all individual qubits on the plane function. The yield of the entire qubit plane thus decreases exponentially with the number of qubits on the plane.
2./ Make QPUs widely available
To make useful progress, the field needs to find creative new approaches. This can only happen if as many parties as possible are working on this. However, progress is hindered by the fact that the production of quantum processing units (QPUs) is capital-intensive, and up until recently, only major players with significant resources are involved in manufacturing these processors, often keeping their developments proprietary. Additionally, their lack of economies of scale contributes to the high cost of QPUs. This situation impedes the overall progress toward the realization of quantum computers.
During the project we worked on solutions of both bottlenecks by the development of a scalable architecture for QPUs and improvement of qubit yield. By focusing only on QPUs, we can make them commercially available at competitive pricing, work with partners to see what is needed to make quantum computing succeed and customize our QPUs accordingly. This push for democratization will make quantum start-ups more competitive and lower the entry barriers for new players.
