Intel said its researchers are a new qubit chip — created in Intel’s D1D Fab in Oregon – for quantum computers.
The new chip is smaller than a pencil’s eraser. Intel said it is the tiniest quantum computing chip Intel has made.
The new spin qubit chip runs at low temperatures required for quantum computing: roughly 460 degrees below zero Fahrenheit – 250 times colder than space.
The spin qubit chip does not contain transistors – the on/off switches that form the basis of today’s computing devices – but qubits (short for quantum bits) that can hold a single electron.
The zigzag lines in the photo are printed wires connecting the chip’s qubits to the outside world.
Intel’s spin qubits are small – about 50 nanometers across and visible only under an electron microscope. About 1,500 qubits could fit across the diameter of a single human hair.
This means the design for new Intel spin qubit chip could be dramatically scaled up. Future quantum computers will contain thousands or even millions of qubits — and will be vastly more powerful than today’s fastest supercomputers.
