Arthur McMiler
PsiQuantum will deploy Omega, a photonic chipset designed specifically for the utility-scale quantum computers it is developing in the United States and Australia under partnership agreements. The company presented the chipset’s advanced components and features vital to the development of million-cubit-scale quantum computers in a paper Nature published Wednesday.
The paper discussed the high-fidelity qubit operations and the simplicity in Omega’s long-range chip-to-chip qubit interconnect, a key enabler to commercial-scale computing that still is a challenge to other technologies, PsiQuantum said.
High-Volume Chip Fab Processes
The company designed the chipset, while GlobalFoundries manufactured Omega in fab processes geared for high-volume production. PsiQuantum’s Omega design is based on single photons manipulated through silicon photonic chip technology drawn from telecom and datacenter networking systems.
New materials for quantum applications were introduced into the high-volume semiconductor fab, including a superconducting component for high efficiency in singe-photon detection. Omega also integrated Barium Titanate, an advanced material that PsiQuantum developed and manufactured for low-loss, high-speed optical switching.
Sites’ Groundbreaking for Quantum Computer Development
The company is scheduled to break ground in Chicago and Brisbane later this year on the facilities for the development of its first utility-scale computers. The initiative is under partnership agreements with the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago for the U.S. site and with the Australian Federal and Queensland State governments for the Brisbane location. Aside from Omega, PsiQuantum will also deploy at the sites a new quantum computer cooling solution that has been developed in a more manufacturable cuboid design.
Besides the two agreements, PsiQuantum is working with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in the validation and co-design stage of its concepts on a utility-scale quantum supercomputer. Microsoft, which DARPA had also engaged in its quantum computing program, recently reported its development of a new quantum processing unit called Majorana 1 for a utility-scale quantum computer prototype.
