Infineon Technologies AG (IFX / IFNNY) and Oxford Ionics have announced that they will work together to create fully integrated, high-performance quantum processors (QPUs). five years. The partnership aims to take quantum computing technology from the lab to the application field and transform it into a true industrial-grade solution. 

Infineon and Oxford Ionics work together to develop advanced ion trap quantum processors

Many industries are looking to radically improve their processes and capabilities, and quantum computing will open up a new era of arithmetic power for them. Achieving this goal will require the development of quantum bit technologies that can be manufactured at scale, as well as the need to control an increasing number of quantum bits and keep quantum errors at their lowest or even lower levels to date. Using Oxford Ionics' EQC technology, ion trap quantum bits can be integrated into Infineon's proven semiconductor processes. In terms of quantum error levels, ion trap quantum bits are a very advanced quantum bit technology today. 

The great challenge in getting quantum computing applications off the ground is to achieve both scale production and performance," said Chris Balance, co-founder of Oxford Ionics. Some technologies can be mass-produced but underperform; others meet the requirements in terms of performance but cannot be produced at scale. Our electronic control technology has the unique advantage of being able to do both at the same time. With Infineon's mature and highly flexible semiconductor processes, we can accelerate the commercialization of quantum processors. Because of our market-leading quantum error rates, these processors require substantially fewer quantum bits to solve real-world problems than other technologies." 

Oxford Ionics' first devices will be connected to the cloud by the end of 2022, providing commercial users with the opportunity to access and use these cutting-edge quantum computers in the cloud. The company plans to launch fully integrated devices with sufficiently high performance and scalability to hundreds of quantum bits within two years. The ultimate goal of Infineon and Oxford Ionics is to deliver fully integrated quantum processors with hundreds of quantum bits within five years and to connect them together via Oxford Ionics' quantum networking technology to form a quantum supercomputing cluster. 

Infineon's role is to take Oxford Ionics' groundbreaking technology to scale for mass production while giving it the required quantum bit count and low quantum error rate," said Stephan Schaecher, Director of New Applications, Innovation and Quantum Computing at Infineon Technologies' Industrial Division. Infineon's ion trap technology, combined with our predictable, repeatable and reliable manufacturing and packaging capabilities, can achieve this goal."