As the computer age continues to get closer and closer to the quantum phase, a brand new announcement came from Intel today. The chip giant has announced its newest quantum chip “Tunnel Falls”.
Tunnel Falls is the most advanced chip they have ever developed, according to Intel’s statement. However, the chip will not be a chip that the company will release. It will only be used for research.
What does Tunnel Falls offer?
Intel Tunnel Falls is a new step in Intel’s long-term strategy built entirely around building a commercial quantum computing system. The chip will be used by the academic community around the world in research deemed appropriate.
Tunnel Falls is much different and faster than the standard chips we use in today’s computers. The chip has 12 qubits. In fact, this number is far behind IBM, another giant in the field of quantum computing, where Intel is in the race. IBM previously introduced a 433-qubit chip, and announced that it will introduce a 1000-chip chip this year.
Here it is useful to briefly mention the difference between qubits and bits. While in today’s computers a bit can always take the value 0 or 1, a qubit is a toggle system. It doesn’t just take 0 or 1, it can also be a quantum superposition of both.
Another huge innovation offered by the chip lies in its scalability. Intel states that the Silicon Spin Qubits in the chip are a million times smaller than other types of qubits, so that the chip can be scaled to have many more qubits.
Another proof that quantum computers are our future is actually in the companies and institutions that work here:
Intel and IBM’s work on quantum chips has been going on for many years. But these studies are not just for consumers. Intel developed Tunnel Falls as part of the LPS Qubit Collaboration initiated by the US military, with the University of Maryland and collaborative affiliates.
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