These devices will play a crucial role in addressing the critical challenge of scaling current quantum computers to fault-tolerant levels and will help to unlock the full potential of quantum going forward.
Crucially, the transistors can be mass produced using existing CMOS fabs, with no new infrastructure required.
Traditional electronic components have typically been used in ultra-low temperatures but tend to underperform in such conditions. This represents a major roadblock on the path to reaching fault-tolerance.
SemiQon has achieved a drastic reduction in heat dissipation of 1,000x, which allows for control and readout electronics to now be placed directly inside a cryostat, alongside the processors, but without causing the disruption that dissipation of heat brings to these systems. This simplifies the growing complexity around control and read-out of quantum processors as they continue to scale up, which is a serious challenge.
“It was clear to us and others in the scientific community, that a transistor which can operate efficiently at ultra-low temperatures would offer substantial value to users in the advanced computing sector and wherever these devices are required to function in cryogenic conditions.” said Himadri Majumdar, CEO and Co-Founder of SemiQon. “Our company is just 2 years old, and already we’ve delivered something which the world has never seen before. Our cryo-CMOS transistor will provide considerable advantages to users both in terms of CapEx and OpEx, as well as by enhancing the functionality of their hardware. This could potentially accelerate the development of quantum technologies, or even enable a new era of cryogenic electronics.”
Specifically engineered to perform optimally at temperatures of 1 Kelvin and lower, the range in which most quantum computers operate, the new cryo-CMOS transistor offers a number of advantages. These include consuming 0.1% of the power and delivering heat dissipation levels 1,000 times lower than traditional room-temperature transistors – helping to slash energy costs in the process.
Beyond quantum computing, these devices also have the potential to improve energy efficiency in high performance computing (HPC) and spaceborne applications as well, providing important cost savings in those industries.
For quantum, the cost of cooling required for these cryogenic CMOS transistors can be more than fully recovered through their 1,000x more efficient power consumption.
SemiQon’s cryo-optimised CMOS transistor is being described as a game-changer because it has the potential to make operating both traditional HPC and quantum computing far less costly, while also cutting emissions.
As an example, the costs of cooling huge datacentres can be highly prohibitive, with global costs estimated to grow from $16 billion this year to more than $42 billion by 2032.
“Quantum technology is set to revolutionise industries, but scalability and price are current challenges. SemiQon’s optimised transistor is capable of functioning efficiently in cryogenic conditions and is an important milestone in the development of future quantum computers. Its pioneering work aims to make deep-tech innovation profitable,” added Erja Turunen, Executive Vice President at VTT in Finland.
In the near term, these cryo-CMOS transistors will reduce the amount of expensive control electronics infrastructure required for quantum computers, making these machines significantly less cumbersome to build and more efficient to operate.
SemiQon said that it expected to start delivery of its first cryo-optimised CMOS transistors to customers in 2025.
