Infineon will be contributing its expertise in the industrial production of special semiconductor chips and from quantum computing approaches such as ion traps.
Due to their special features, quantum computers have the disruptive potential to replace existing conventional computers in specific applications. For example, they could be used to calculate simulations of complex molecules for the chemical and pharmaceutical industry, complicated optimisations for the automotive and aviation industry, or new findings from the analysis of complex financial data.
Quantum computers have so far been restricted to solving specific academic problems and basically demonstrating how they function. A suitable architecture for calculating practical problems requires further improvements on all levels, from the elementary hardware modules and the qubits, to the software and application.
The aim of the project, funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research with €14.5 million, is to develop a groundbreaking quantum processor based on superconducting qubits and demonstrate its special capabilities on a prototype within four years.
Infineon will be work with the Walther Meißner Institute (WMI) of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities and the Technical University of Munich, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the Friedrich Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU), the Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics (IAF), and Infineon.
“Quantum computing has reached the point where we now need to translate the science into practical application,” said Sebastian Luber, Senior Director Technology & Innovation at Infineon. “This, however, requires improvements to the features of quantum processors, and it must become possible to manufacture them on an industrial scale. The trick is to move forward, even if it is not yet clear which technology is best suited. Methods for the mass production of micro-structures, while maintaining consistent quality, are also needed for qubits."
Infineon has already developed a novel ion trap quantum processor chip together with experimental physicists from the University of Innsbruck and is collaborating with other partners to lay the foundation to spread and apply quantum technologies.
