Researchers demonstrate successful control of ‘hot’ qubits

Researchers at Intel and QuTech have demonstrated the successful control of ‘hot’ quantum bits (qubits) at temperatures greater than 1 kelvin. The research is important because ‘it paves the way for quantum integrated circuits that host both the quantum hardware and its control circuitry on the same chip, providing a scalable approach towards practical quantum information processing’. As explained by Intel, current quantum systems designs are limited by system size, qubit fidelity, and the complexity of control electronics required to manage the quantum at large scale. If the control electronics and spin qubits are integrated on the same chip, this significantly simplifies the interconnects between the two; but this requires increasing the temperatures at which the qubits can operate. A quantum computer was previously only proven to operate in the millikelvin range; the new research demonstrates that silicon spin qubits have the potential to operate at slightly higher temperatures than current quantum systems, achieving a step towards scalability.