Universal Quantum unveils iQPU, a foundry-made trapped-ion chip with built-in control

Universal Quantum has launched the iQPU, an integrated quantum processing unit that puts a trapped-ion trap, control electronics and chip-to-chip connections into one module. The UK-based company, which also has a hub in Hamburg, announced the chip on November 3 and says it will go into the two systems it is building for the German Aerospace Center (DLR).

What was announced

The iQPU has an active compute area of more than 400 mm², which Universal Quantum calls the largest trapped-ion compute surface. It uses a quantum charge-coupled device (QCCD) design: ions are moved between zones on the chip, so any qubit can be brought next to any other rather than being tied to one location. According to the company, this long-range connectivity reduces the number of qubits needed for commercial problems and speeds up computation.

Two other features are aimed at scaling. First, a custom control ASIC is built into the stack to handle switching and control on the chip. This is meant to address the "wiring problem": the growing number of cables and signal lines needed as qubit counts rise. Second, every iQPU carries interfaces for UQConnect, the company's module-to-module link. With UQConnect, ions move directly from one module to a neighbouring one, so several chips can act as one larger computer without redesigning the chip.

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The technical details

The product page gives these figures and design choices:

• a stack of layers: the ion trap, routing layers, an integrated magnetic-field control layer, through-silicon vias (TSVs) and the ASIC layer. The TSVs leave every edge free to connect to neighbouring modules;
• operation at about 70 K rather than microkelvin temperatures, and qubit gates driven by global microwave fields instead of large numbers of individually steered lasers;
• a design that the company says enables 99.9% two-qubit fidelity;
• UQConnect performance of 2,424 qubit transfers per second at 99.999993% connection fidelity;
• fabrication on a commercial 200 mm foundry line using industry-standard tools and a modified process design kit.

The company presents these as design and component figures. On its own roadmap, delivery of iQPU systems to customers and a tiled multi-module assembly are both still listed as upcoming.

Why it matters

Trapped ions are known for high-quality qubits, but systems built on them have been hard to scale in size and in the amount of lasers, wiring and cooling they need. Universal Quantum's bet is that a repeatable unit made in a foundry with on-chip control can be tested and tiled like conventional semiconductor parts. "A scalable quantum computer cannot be assembled by adding complexity one qubit at a time," said Mike Newman, VP of Engineering.

What to watch

DLR will be the first customer to receive the iQPU. It selected Universal Quantum to build two machines, Toccata and Legato, for its Quantum Computing Initiative in Hamburg under contracts worth €67 million. The launch follows the company's Series A of more than $100 million in October, co-led by DCVC and Firgun Ventures. The key tests are measured fidelities on delivered hardware and a working multi-module system.