Tech giant IBM has connected and cooled two cryogenic modules into a single environment as part of its effort to develop modular systems capable of linking hundreds of quantum chips.
The company announced the milestone Aug. 25, saying the architecture is designed to support larger quantum computers and advance its roadmap toward IBM Quantum Starling, which IBM expects to deliver in 2029 as a fault-tolerant quantum computer.
The first two operational modules stand more than 8 feet tall and 8 feet wide when combined. Initial tests showed they could reach 4 kelvins, the temperature of liquid helium, in less than five days before reaching a final temperature below 15 millikelvins.
Each module’s vacuum enclosure provides up to 12 times more wiring space than IBM’s most widely used quantum systems, according to the company. The additional space is intended to support more connections between quantum chips within and across modules.
IBM’s box-shaped design allows the modules to be connected in a row. The system uses IBM’s L-coupler technology to link separate quantum chips so they can share information and operate as part of a larger quantum computer.
IBM’s quantum roadmap calls for L-couplers to link multiple processors into a system with at least 1,000 programmable qubits by 2027. The company plans to install IBM Quantum Nighthawk processors in the cryogenic modules later this year for further testing.
By the time IBM Quantum Starling is delivered, IBM expects each cryogenic module to house thousands of qubits.
The company said the modular architecture incorporates three components of the environment used in IBM Quantum System Two while allowing each component to be tested and improved independently.
“Bringing fault-tolerant quantum computers to industries depends on several fundamental advances,” said Jay Gambetta, director of IBM Research and IBM Fellow. “The successful connection and operation of these cryogenic modules signals a leap forward in that direction and will accelerate our progress alongside continued innovation in quantum hardware, software, and algorithms.”
IBM said its Starling plans build on an error-correction code introduced last year that reduces the physical resources required for fault tolerance. The company said subsequent work has included demonstrations of core hardware components and advances in error-correction decoding.
The new cryogenic modules are intended to address a major engineering challenge in scaling quantum computing: creating an ultra-cold environment capable of supporting connections among a larger number of quantum processors.
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