A successful validation of a commercial CMOS process for silicon-based quantum technologies for spin qubits was completed by Equal1 on GlobalFoundries’ 22FDX fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FD-SOI) process technologies.
The validation demonstrates the ability to form multiple quantum dots with precise tunable tunnel coupling between them, Equal1 said. The company claims this is a first in commercial processing.
Equal1 said this is a benchmark for scalable spin qubit architectures to advance quantum computing integration inside existing chip frameworks. This was accomplished by transforming conventional multi-gate transistors into functional quantum-dot arrays.
Pushing boundaries
The company said the goal is to push the boundaries of existing semiconductor manufacturing processes as part of the movement among silicon spin qubit companies to drive innovation using mature chip technologies and scale quantum computing.
“While some in the industry suggest that quantum computing is decades away, our work demonstrates that scalable quantum systems are closer than we thought,” said Jason Lynch, CEO of Equal1. “We’re proving that quantum computing doesn’t need to remain an elusive goal – it can align with the industrial strengths of today’s semiconductor ecosystem to deliver meaningful results. By leveraging CMOS-compatible technology, we address key challenges in scalability and integration, paving the way for practical, large-scale quantum systems.”
The company’s monolithic chip contains 29 NMOS and PMOS quantum cells. Each hosting linear quantum-dot arrays with up to three tunnel-coupled quantum dots and charge sensor structures. It has a temperature range from 70 mK to 1.2 K.
