Quantum/Machines/Intel Tunnel Falls
USA · operational · Silicon spin
Intel Tunnel Falls
Intel Tunnel Falls is a silicon spin quantum computer operated by Intel in USA. It has 12 physical qubits. It ranks 1 of 2 silicon spin machines in this table by physical qubit count. 10 sourced specs are in the spec sheet. No benchmark figures are recorded for it yet.
Tunnel Falls is Intel's 12-qubit silicon spin-qubit research chip, made at its D1 facility and distributed to labs including LPS, Sandia, the University of Rochester and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Intel reported a 95% device yield across the wafer. It is a chip for researchers, not a hosted quantum computer, and Intel's page did not give gate fidelities in the content consulted.
Spec sheet
Technical details as the builder or a paper states them, each with its own source. A blank is a fact we could not source, not a zero. Fidelity and coherence figures are in the benchmark table below.
| Spec | Value | Basis | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Processor | Tunnel Falls 12-qubit silicon spin-qubit research chip | Vendor reported | Intel says 4 to 12 qubits can be isolated and used at once on the 12-quantum-dot device. | intel.comphysicsworld.com |
| Qubit type | Electron spin qubit in a Si/SiGe quantum dot (strained Si well) | Peer reviewed | Intel's Nano Letters paper describes electron spin qubits in a strained Si quantum well; the newsroom post says only silicon spin qubits encoded in single-electron spin. | arxiv.orgintel.com |
| Topology | Linear array of 12 quantum dots, 25 gates, 4 SET charge sensors | Peer reviewed | Layout reported for the 12QD test devices in Intel's paper, with gate pitch of 45 to 100 nm; a 3QD variant also exists. | arxiv.org |
| Native gates | EDSR single-qubit rotations, exchange-based two-qubit gates | Peer reviewed | Paper reports electric dipole spin resonance via a shared screening gate (Rabi frequency about 600 kHz) and exchange coupling between neighbours; no gate times given. | arxiv.org |
| Cooling and environment | Dilution refrigerator | Peer reviewed | Devices were characterized in a dilution refrigerator; Intel's newsroom post gives no cooling detail. | arxiv.org |
| Operating temperature | 20 mK | Peer reviewed | Base temperature of the dilution refrigerator used for the paper's measurements, not a guaranteed operating spec. | arxiv.org |
| Fabrication | Intel D1 fab, 300 mm wafers, EUV lithography, 95% wafer yield | Vendor reported | Intel says over 24,000 quantum dot devices per wafer; Physics World places the D1 facility in Oregon. | intel.comphysicsworld.com |
| Software | Intel Quantum SDK | Vendor reported | Integration with the Intel Quantum SDK was stated as planned in June 2023. | intel.comphysicsworld.com |
| Access and pricing | Chips supplied to research labs (LPS, Sandia, Rochester, Wisconsin-Madison) | Vendor reported | Not a hosted cloud machine; no price published. | intel.comphysicsworld.com |
| Roadmap | Next-generation chip based on Tunnel Falls expected in 2024 | Vendor reported | Statement made in June 2023; no named successor was found in the sources read, so the successor spec is omitted. | intel.comphysicsworld.com |
Timeline
- 2023-06-15: Announced
- 2023-06: First operational
- 2023-06-15: Status checked: operational
Comparable silicon spin machines
Closest in physical qubit count within the same technology. Counts of different qubit types are not interchangeable across technologies.
| Machine | Operator | Qubits | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Equal1 Bell-1 | Equal1 | 6 | operational |