Building on the breakthrough of manufacturing quantum chips on 200mm silicon wafers using CMOS processes, C12 is pursuing the next materials leap in quantum computing: using carbon nanotubes to build quantum bits, or qubits, the fundamental building blocks of quantum computers. By combining an ultra-pure material with an easy-to-manufacture semiconductor device, the company is building a scalable and ultra-coherent platform for quantum computing.
In addition, C12 and CEA have demonstrated a world-s-first ability to manufacture, with precision and in volume, core components to calibrate, control and read qubits, using standard manufacturing processes. Combined with C12-s unique nano-assembly process, this will enable large-scale integration of reliable qubits. In that process, nanotubes are assembled mechanically by C12 onto the semiconductor chip fabricated by CEA. This enables C12 to design electronic circuits with near-arbitrary complexity, while protecting the qubit from contamination until the final fabrication step.
The two partners also have started manufacturing electronic chips for C12-s quantum accelerators, the startup’s first product milestone. C12-s roadmap includes growing a range of quantum accelerators for integration into classical supercomputers.
C12, a leader in the search for materials breakthroughs for quantum computing, closed a $10 million seed round of funding in June 2021 .
-This partnership is a key milestone for our company to transfer an academic fab process to an industrial-grade semiconductor fab process, which was a major challenge,- said Pierre Desjardins, CEO & co-founder of C12. -Thanks to CEA-Leti, we will benefit from better quality and higher volume as well as will prepare for industrialization of our devices.-
-Quantum technology offers great promise for the next computing generation but still faces significant developmental challenges for fabricating qubit chips. Combining well-established CMOS technologies with C12-s original approach using carbon nanotubes could accelerate progress toward commercializing quantum computing and manufacturing those chips at scale- said Sébastien Dauvé, CEA-Leti’s CEO. CEA-Leti’s team and expertise will help C12 reach that higher level of technological maturity more rapidly.-
In addition, the collaboration will further investigate integration of innovative materials to optimize the properties of qubits hosted in carbon nanotubes, and includes continued work on the design and fabrication of multi-qubit chips. A final full prototype is expected in 2024.
