Qblox is the top choice for Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden to further their quantum aspirations

1 October 2021 ByCalvin Curry

Accelerating European quantum collaboration

It’s been an exciting month for Delft-based Qblox, as they announce their selection by Chalmers University of Technology to install their fully-integrated Cluster control stack at the Quantum Technology Lab (QTL) in Gothenburg. Qblox will help the Swedish quantum leaders with their aspirations of exploiting a 20-qubit quantum computer.

The mission to create this quantum processor has its origins in the Quantum Technology Lab in 2018. Its purpose is to tackle and solve problems beyond the capabilities of currently available supercomputers. The initiative is the brainchild and work of Dr. Giovanna Tancredi with Prof. Jonas Bylander and Prof. Per Delsing. In order to take this project to the next stage, they selected Qblox that has developed state-of-the-art fully-integrated control and readout electronics to effectively control the 20-qubit processor.

Earlier in the month, Qblox flew with us to London as part of the official Dutch Delegation representing us at the Quantum Computing Summit London. CEO and Co-founder at Qblox Niels Bultink is positive about their ability to collaborate, saying, “at Qblox, we engage with quantum technology developers around the world to help scale their quantum computer with our fully-integrated control stack.” The quantum processor from the QTL in Sweden will be based on superconducting circuits, a widely-used technology for quantum computing. Qblox is at the forefront of solving challenges together with these collaborative successes. Niels emphasized that “this request for a control stack for 20 qubits is the first of its kind in the world. The Qblox team is proud to service the Quantum Technology Lab at Chalmers University.”

“At Qblox, we engage with quantum technology developers around the world to help scale their quantum computer with our fully-integrated control stack.”

-Niels Bultink, CEO & Co-Founder Qblox.

A fully-integrated control stack for quantum computers

The selection process of the University involved an open tender and Qblox faced stiff competition from well-known international control stack developers. The requirements were to procure robust and scalable control and readout electronics. Qblox was selected over other companies because of its ability to surpass the requested technical requirements and its ability in scaling up in the future.

The new Cluster RF modules by Qblox were launched at the APS March meeting in 2021. Some control stack facts:

Qubit control is managed by the QCM-RF module, which directly outputs RF signals in the range of 2-18.5 GHz. It integrates 6 AWG’s capable of generating complex baseband signals, two LO’s, and two IQ mixers. The module can self-calibrate its IQ mixer skewness, amplitude imbalance and LO leakage.
Qubit readout is performed by the QRM-RF module which includes LO’s, mixers, 6 AWGs pulse generators and digitizers for multiplexed readout in the range of 2 – 18.5 GHz. The QRM has advanced binning and averaging capabilities and can store up to 131072 IQ measurement results in a single experimental run.

Qblox is set to provide Chalmers with a control stack consisting of a fully integrated system providing all software and hardware components to control and readout their quantum device. The goal to further the reach of this scalable technology is one that Niels speaks eagerly about, saying, “My dream is that you don’t have to care about the hardware that is used for your quantum algorithm. To get there, we need to make a distinction between the layers that have to be platform-specific and the ones that are not. Ideally, we have the most specific hardware at the lower end of the stack. We are keen to work with software developers to find smart ways of realising this type of architecture.”

To know more about how Qblox is shaping the quantum landscape in the Netherlands and beyond read their press release. We look forward to Dutch quantum technology continuing to be the go-to choice for many more major quantum players globally.

Marieke de Lorijn

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