Quantum Computing No Longer a Pipedream

While today’s advanced processors can handle tasks not imaginable a few years ago, the rapid emergence of AI and machine learning, along with a host of other complex high-speed computing problems, is posing a stiff challenges to these processors. In response, the industry is looking at quantum computing, which exploits quantum mechanical phenomena to solve problems now deemed too complex for traditional computer processors.

Quantum computing has been researched for a number of years by forward-thinking scientists. But over the past year, a spate of developments has thrust the technology into the consciousness of more electronics companies and research institutions. Market studies bear this out.

For instance, one study, from Fortune Business Insights, projects the quantum computing market to grow from $928.8 million in 2023 to $6,5 billion by 2030, for a robust compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 32.1%.

Chip companies are pouring both financial and manpower resources to develop quantum technology.

Intel’s Tunnel Falls

Arguably the most noise was made by Intel in June, which announced the availability of a quantum research chip for university and federal research labs. Called Tunnel Falls, the 12-qubit silicon chip gives research labs immediate availability of a part to learn about qubits and quantum dots.

Related:Researchers Demonstrate Time Reversal in Quantum Systems

Intel is collaborating with Laboratory for Physical Sciences (LPS) at the University of Maryland, College Park’s Qubit Collaboratory (LQC), a national-level Quantum Information Sciences (QIS) Research Center, to advance quantum computing research. LQC as part of the Qubits for Computing Foundry (QCF) program through the U.S. Army Research Office to provide Intel’s new quantum chip to research laboratories. The collaboration with LQC will help democratize silicon spin qubits by enabling researchers to gain hands-on experience working with scaled arrays of these qubits.

The first quantum labs to participate in the program include LPS, Sandia National Laboratories, the University of Rochester, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. LQC will work alongside Intel to make Tunnel Falls available to additional universities and research labs. The information gathered from these experiments will be shared with the community to advance quantum research and to help Intel improve qubit performance and scalability.

Also In June, Infineon Technologies announced a partnership with elecQtron GmbH, a German quantum computing company, to jointly develop trapped ion quantum processor units (QPUs) for scalable quantum computers. eleQtron aims to offer internationally competitive quantum processing units (QPUs) with high computing power using the promising MAGIC technology. The “MAgnetic Gradient-Induced Coupling” or MAGIC concept allows the control of qubits using radio frequency technology instead of lasers achieving record-low crosstalk between adjacent qubits.

Related:DesignCon Keynote: Cryptography Faces Quantum Computing Attacks

Back in March, Nvidia introduced GPX Quantum, a GPU Accelerated Quantum Computing System that Uses Open-Source CUDA Quantum Software. DGX Quantum incorporates a NVIDIA Grace Hopper system connected by PCIe to Quantum Machines OPX+. This enables sub-microsecond latency between GPUs and quantum processing units (QPUs).

Facilitating Testing

Testing and development tools for quantum electronics are also emerging. Keysight Electronics has developed a Quantum Control System (QCS) that ombines dedicated quantum control hardware and full-stack software capabilities to provide an easy-to-use solution for the control and readout of quantum devices. 

Keysight’s QCS provides for the acquisition of microwave, baseband, and digital signals used to control and read out qubits. It has API and GUI interfaces to give quick access to textbook quantum experiments and custom pulse sequences. Advanced clock distribution and timing software ensures phase and event synchronization across all systems channels.

Security Concerns

One key consideration with the rise of quantum computing is security concerns, as most current computing encryption procedures are not designed to handle quantum computing algorithms. This has people on academic and government levels sounding the call to develop solutions.

One chip IP supplier, Rambus, has for the past few years been actively developing Root of Trust IP solutions. In June, the company announced the first in a family of Quantum Safe security IP products with its next-generation Root of Trust for data center and communications security.

According to the company, the Rambus Root of Trust IP offers customers a complete Post Quantum Cryptography (PQC) hardware security solution that protects valuable data center and AI/ML assets and systems from potential attacks from quantum computers. The IP uses the quantum-compute resistant cryptographic algorithms selected by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST): CRYSTALS-Kyber for key-encapsulation and CRYSTALS-Dilithium for digital signatures.

In addition, Rambus Root of Trust IP supports the Commercial National Security Algorithm Suite (CNSA) algorithms for software and firmware updates, including XMSS/LMS stateful hash firmware signatures, CNSA symmetric-key algorithms, and CNSA quantum-resistant public-key algorithms.

Fuel Cell Research

The uptick in quantum computing technology development is seen as vital as quantum computing is increasingly seen as an enablers in researching advanced technologies in various industries.

Recently, Airbus, BMW Group and Quantinuum, world leaders in mobility and quantum technologies, developed a hybrid quantum-classical workflow to speed up future research using quantum computers to simulate quantum systems, focusing on the chemical reactions of catalysts in fuel cells. 

 In a new technical paper, "Applicability of Quantum Computing to Oxygen Reduction Reaction Simulations,“ the three partners reported accurately modeling the oxygen reduction reaction ("ORR") on the surface of a platinum-based catalyst. The ORR is the chemical reaction in the process that converts hydrogen and oxygen into water and electricity in a fuel cell and it limits the efficiency of the process. 

Using Quantinuum's H-Series quantum computer, the collaboration team has demonstrated the applicability of quantum computing in an industrial workflow to enhance understanding of a critical chemical reaction. The three companies plan further collaboration to explore the use of quantum computing to address relevant industrial challenges. 

For BMW, the use of quantum computing could potentially help the automaker enable faster and more efficient processes while reducing lab prototypes. This could pave the way to developing more sustainable energy solutions for vehicles.

For Airbus, using quantum computing to understand fuel cell conversion could expedite the company’s efforts to develop hydrogen fuels cells to power low-carbon aircraft, as they emit no CO2 when flying. The company previously announced plans to start testing a hydrogen-powered fuel cell propulsion system onboard its ZEROe demonstrator aircraft in the next few years, as part of a long-term mission to develop the world’s first hydrogen-powered commercial aircraft by 2035. 

Canada Also Active

The drive to adopt quantum technologies is occurring outside the U.S. as well. In Canada, NGen, the industry-led organization leading Canada's Global Innovation Cluster for Advanced Manufacturing and DIGITAL, Canada's Global Innovation Cluster for digital technologies, recently partnered to launch $30 million in new projects to drive the commercialization of quantum technologies.

The clusters will build on Canada's National Quantum Strategy to deliver industry-led commercialization projects that use quantum technologies to solve industrial and societal challenges. The clusters will leverage their cross-country networks to deploy Canada's  R&D resources to deliver strategic industrial advantages through the use of emerging quantum technologies.x

Under the National Quantum Strategy, DIGITAL and NGen will receive $14 million in total to advance the commercialization of products, services and technologies based on advances in quantum science. The clusters aim to leverage the NQS funding to attract more than $30 million in total investments and will focus their projects in three key categories of quantum technologies, including quantum sensors, quantum networks, and quantum computing.

Spencer Chin is a Senior Editor for Design News covering the electronics beat. He has many years of experience covering developments in components, semiconductors, subsystems, power, and other facets of electronics from both a business/supply-chain and technology perspective. He can be reached at [email protected].