Quantum computers may soon be even bigger than they already are thanks to a new manufacturing breakthrough from full-stack quantum computing company Rigetti Computing.
The company announced the launch of the world’s first multi-chip quantum processor that incorporates a proprietary modular architecture that solves some of the key scaling challenges associated with fault-tolerant quantum computers.
Rigetti Computing plans to build an 80-qubit quantum computer powered by its multi-chip quantum processor later this year and make it available to customers on its Quantum Cloud Services platform.
Founder and CEO of Rigetti Computing, Chad Rigetti provided further information on the company’s new multi-chip quantum processor in a Press release, saying:
“We have developed a fundamentally new approach to scaling quantum computers. Our proprietary innovations in chip design and manufacturing have opened up what we believe is the fastest way to build the systems needed to run practical applications and correct errors. “
Scaling quantum computers
There are a number of challenges inherent in scaling quantum computers. For example, as the chip size increases, the probability of failure is higher and the manufacturing efficiency lower, which makes it more and more difficult to produce high quality devices.
Fortunately, Rigetti Computing has managed to overcome these hurdles by developing the technology needed to connect multiple identical chips into a large-scale quantum processor. At the same time, this modular approach helps reduce manufacturing complexity and enables accelerated and predictable scale-up.
The company’s multi-chip approach will allow future systems to scale in a multiplicative fashion and the next-generation architectures currently under development at Rigetti include individual chips with more qubits as well as advanced technologies that will be used to connect more these chips to larger processors.
We’ll likely know more about the performance of Rigetti Computing’s multi-chip quantum processor once the company’s new 80-qubit quantum computer is completed later this year.
