Key Takeaway
Engineers face significant challenges in quantum computing, including the redesign of complex wiring systems and the need for larger refrigeration units to maintain superconductors at near absolute zero temperatures. This requires substantial infrastructure investments. Google aims to cut component costs by 90% to reach a $1 billion target for a complete system. IBM’s Condor chip, featuring 433 qubits, highlights scaling issues, as increased qubit numbers lead to interference. Rigetti Computing’s CEO, Subodh Kulkarni, notes that stacking qubits creates uncontrollable effects, presenting a complex physics problem that engineers must address.
The Challenges Engineers Face
In addition to theoretical issues, companies encounter various practical engineering challenges.
These challenges involve redesigning the intricate wiring systems used in current quantum computers and creating significantly larger specialized refrigeration units.
Quantum systems that utilize superconductors must function at temperatures near absolute zero, necessitating considerable infrastructure investments.
Google aims to cut component costs by a factor of ten to reach its target of US$1 billion for a complete system.
IBM’s experimental Condor chip, featuring 433 qubits, highlighted the scaling issues when an increase in qubit numbers resulted in interference among components.
“Stacking larger numbers of qubits together like this creates a strange effect that we can no longer control,” says Subodh Kulkarni, CEO of Rigetti Computing.
“That’s a challenging physics problem to solve.”
