A team of researchers working at the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) in the University of Waterloo recently declared success in development of new extensible wiring technique that has capability to control superconducting quantum bits. The new discovery symbolizes a  critical step towards realization of scalable quantum computers. Jeremy Bejanin, a PhD candidate at IQC and with the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Waterloo adds, “The quantum socket is a wiring method that uses three-dimensional wires based on spring-loaded pins to address individual qubits. The technique connects classical electronics with quantum circuits, and is extendable far beyond current limits, from one to possibly a few thousand qubits”.

 

 

 

One of the most promised application of scalable quantum computing architecture utilizes a superconducting qubit which is quite similar to the electronic circuit that presently found in a classical computer. This is characterized by two prime states, 0 & . Quantum mechanics helps in preparing the qubit in superposition states which means the qubit can exist in two states 0 and 1 simultaneously. For initializing a qubit in 0 state, the superconducting qubits are freezed to a low temperature of -273 degrees Celsius in a dilution refrigerator or cryostat. 

 

In order to measure and control the superconducting qubits, the team working on it used microwave pulses. These pulses are usually sent from some dedicated sources as well as pulse generators via a network of cables that connects the qubits in the cryostat’s cold environment with the room-temperature electric equipments. The network of cables that is needed to access the qubits in the cryostat is a complicated system and was a barrier in quantum computing architecture scaling till date. 

 

Matteo Mariantoni, a IQC faculty and member of Department of Physics and Astronomy at Waterloo, also the senior author of this paper, says, “All wire components in the quantum socket are specifically designed to operate at very low temperatures and perform well in the microwave range required to manipulate the qubits. We have been able to use it to control superconducting devices, which is one of the many critical steps necessary for the development of extensible quantum computing technologies.”