Intel starts testing the Spin Qubit Chip: The smallest for quantum computing

Intel, precisely its research division, has announced new steps in the field of quantum computers, communicating the start of the test phase for its chip called Spin Qubit.

Created at the Intel D1D Fab headquarters in Oregon, it is based on the same production techniques nowadays used, the result of 50 years of activity in the sector, for traditional chips made of silicon and transistors, but instead of the latter components the quantum technology provides for the adoption of qubits, or ” quantum bits “, consisting of a single electron, characterized by functions well beyond the simple 1-0 states of the current transistor concept on which modern computing is based, offering multiple operating variables that translate in a huge greater computing power.

The Spin Qubit is currently the smallest quantum computing chip that Intel has made. It has smaller dimensions than a pencil eraser, but ideally, when the production processes allow it, it will be able to condense up to 1,500 qubits in the diameter of a single human hair.

Few the technical specifications made known: no information about the quantity of qubits reached, we refer to their dimensions that are attested in about 50 nanometers, the operation of these components requires extremely low operating temperatures, close to absolute zero, that is to -273°C.

The current ” generous ” dimensions of the chip and the clear lines that can be seen are mainly necessary for its easier connection to the outside world, leaving ample room for shrinking developments in the coming years and giving the possibility to concentrate in a single unit thousands or even millions of qubits.