Development of cryo-CMOS to enable the next generation of scalable quantum computers

开发冷冻 CMOS 以实现下一代可扩展量子计算机

• 批准号: 10006017
• 金额: $ 617.58万
• 依托单位: SURECORE LIMITED
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Collaborative R&D
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2021 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=10006017
• 关键词: Development; cryo; CMOS; enable; next

Modern life is unthinkable without computers. An ever-increasing amount of energy is required for computing, impacting the global drive to a low-carbon economy, and Moore's law is slowing as the circuit dimensions approach physical limits. Quantum computers can create a computational space much larger than their classical counterparts. They will shape computing, science and commercial standards by solving numerical problems that are currently out of reach in fields including chemistry, material science, logistics, artificial intelligence, machine learning and cryptography. The race is on to build the world's first practical quantum computers, which requires scaling from arrays of a few dozen qubits, to thousands, to millions of qubits. To achieve this, we need to create integrated systems of qubit arrays and control electronics. In most implementations, the qubits require cryogenic cooling, typically to a fraction of a degree above absolute zero. Yet conventional CMOS electronics is designed to operate at room temperature, and if these chips are cooled to cryogenic temperatures, the operating characteristics of the transistors change markedly, and they no longer work as intended. This problem is well recognised in the industry. Major players such as Google, Microsoft and Intel have all invested in progressing towards building specialised "cryo-CMOS" control electronics that can operate in the very cold environment that the qubits require. Most quantum computing companies, however, don't have the resources to develop silicon CMOS processes for cryogenic temperatures. Instead, they rely on semiconductor fabrication via foundries (e.g., TSMC, Globalfoundries), looking to various silicon IP companies to provide technology to enable them to exploit the foundries' manufacturing capability. This model has worked well for development of chips for room temperature operation, however it requires significant updating to create new designs that can work at ultra-cold temperatures. This project brings together world-leading expertise in CMOS design and quantum computing. We will create updated process design kits (PDKs) for cryogenic temperatures and an ecosystem of silicon IP products to enable chip designers to exploit foundries using the established fabless model. Thus the project will enable quantum computing companies to scale their hardware systems to create a new generation of more powerful quantum computers.

没有计算机，现代生活是不可想象的。计算需要不断增加的能量，影响到低碳经济的全球驱动力，并且随着电路尺寸接近物理限制，摩尔定律正在放缓。量子计算机可以创建比经典同行大得多的计算空间。它们将通过解决当前在化学，材料科学，物流，人工智能，机器学习和加密等领域中遥不可及的数值问题来塑造计算，科学和商业标准。该竞赛正在建立世界上第一个实用的量子计算机，该计算机需要从几十个Qubits的阵列缩放到数千个Qubits。为了实现这一目标，我们需要创建量子阵列和控制电子的集成系统。在大多数实施中，量子位需要低温冷却，通常为绝对零以上的程度的一部分。然而，常规的CMOS电子旨在在室温下运行，如果将这些芯片冷却到低温温度，则晶体管的工作特性明显变化，并且不再按预期工作。这个问题在行业中得到了广泛认可。诸如Google，Microsoft和Intel等主要参与者都投资了发展，以构建可以在量子器所需的非常寒冷的环境中运行的专业“ Cryo-Cmos”控制电子产品。但是，大多数量子计算公司没有资源来开发硅CMOS流程以进行低温温度。取而代之的是，他们依靠通过铸造厂（例如TSMC，GlobalFouldries）制造半导体制造，并寻求各种硅IP公司提供技术，以使其能够利用铸造厂的制造能力。该模型在开发室温运行的芯片方面非常有效，但是需要进行大量更新，以创建可以在超冷温度下工作的新设计。该项目汇集了CMOS设计和量子计算方面的世界领先专业知识。我们将为低温温度和硅IP产品生态系统创建更新的工艺设计套件（PDK），以使芯片设计师能够使用既定的Fabless模型来利用铸造厂。因此，该项目将使量子计算公司能够扩展其硬件系统，从而创建新一代更强大的量子计算机。