SemiQon has reportedly announced the world's first transistor capable of operating efficiently at ultra-low temperatures. This innovation will play an important role in solving the critical challenge of quantum computers scaling to fault-tolerant levels, and will unlock the full potential of quantum technology in the enterprise and other critical areas.
Today, traditional electronic components often need to operate in ultra-low temperature environments, and these components often perform unsatisfactorily to meet the high efficiency requirements of quantum computing. Unstable performance in low-temperature environments is a major obstacle to the expansion of quantum computing. SemiQon's new transistors successfully overcome this problem by reducing heat dissipation by a factor of 1,000, allowing control and readout devices to be placed directly inside a cryostat and tightly integrated with the quantum processor. This breakthrough will simplify the complexity of controlling and reading data as quantum processors scale, solving challenges that few other technologies have been able to solve before.
The "cold" challenge of quantum computing is solved
Himadri Majumdar, CEO and co-founder of SemiQon, said, "We share with the global scientific community that transistors that can operate stably at ultra-low temperatures will bring tremendous value to quantum computing and other applications that require low temperatures. He added, "Just two years after our company was founded, we have delivered this breakthrough product that has never been seen before. Our cryogenic CMOS transistors will provide significant benefits to users, both in terms of capital expenditure, operating costs, and hardware enhancements. We believe that this innovation will not only accelerate the development of quantum technology, but also potentially usher in a new era of cryogenic electronics.”
The unique design of this low-temperature CMOS transistor allows it to maintain optimal performance in environments of 1 Kelvin and below, which is exactly the operating temperature range required for most quantum computers. The transistor offers a number of advantages over conventional room-temperature transistors, including a power consumption of only 0.1% and a heat dissipation level that is 1,000 times lower than that of conventional transistors. This improvement has significant business value for businesses that have invested heavily in computing and cooling, as it can significantly reduce energy consumption and thus operating costs.
Figure：SemiQon unveils CMOS transistor optimized for cryogenic conditions（image：semiconductorDigest）
Potential applications beyond quantum computing
In addition to quantum computing, SemiQon's cryogenic transistors will have a positive impact on high-performance computing (HPC) and space applications. These industries have extremely high requirements for energy efficiency, and the new transistors have the potential to significantly improve their energy efficiency and help companies achieve significant cost savings.
Especially in the field of quantum computing, the high power consumption of cryogenic transistors means that cooling costs can be significantly reduced. Due to the improved heat dissipation efficiency of the transistors, the overall energy consumption will decrease, which will greatly reduce the operating cost of quantum computers. According to market forecasts, the cost of cooling data centers worldwide is expected to grow from $16 billion in 2023 to more than $42 billion in 2032. As a result, these low-temperature CMOS transistors offer a strong cost control solution for quantum computing and data center applications.
Promote the development of quantum computing and usher in a new era
Erja Turunen, Executive Vice President of VTT Technology Research Center, Finland, also commented: "Quantum technology will revolutionize every industry, but scalability and cost are the main challenges at the moment. SemiQon's cryogenic optimized transistors are capable of operating effectively at ultra-low temperatures, a milestone breakthrough that paves the way for the future of quantum computing. Its groundbreaking technological innovations will be profitable in the deep technology space and drive industry progress.”
In the short term, SemiQon's cryogenic CMOS transistors will significantly reduce the expensive control electronics infrastructure required for quantum computers, simplify the manufacturing process of quantum computers, and improve operational efficiency. As quantum computers continue to evolve to achieve fault tolerance, these technological advantages will be of great interest to quantum computer manufacturers and their investors.
Looking to the future
SemiQon plans to begin delivering its first cryologically optimized CMOS transistors to customers in 2025, which will mark a new phase of development in quantum computing technology and high-performance computing. As this innovative technology matures, the commercial application of quantum computing will become more feasible, and cryogenic electronics will become an important pillar of future computing technology.
