Foxconn parent company will build ion trap quantum computer within 5 years
In order to grasp the development opportunities in the field of quantum computing in the next era, on December 12, the Hon Hai Research Institute of Foxconn’s parent company Hon Hai Group announced the establishment of the "Ion Trap Laboratory" at its "NExT Forum" quantum computing forum. The Institute of Quantum Computing of the Sea Research Institute led the development of quantum compilers and invested in the development plan of ion trap quantum computers. It is expected to launch a 5- to 10-bit open source, programmable ion trap quantum computer within 5 years, which will serve as a platform prototype for medium and long-term scalable quantum computers. .
In Taiwan, Hon Hai and Quanta both announced their investment in quantum computer research. Hon Hai was the first manufacturer to disclose a specific timetable and announce the development of quantum computers.
Hon Hai Research Institute and Taiwan Quantum Computer and Information Technology Association jointly organized the "NExT Forum: Quantum Computing", inviting world-renowned ion trap technology experts and quantum computing industry leaders such as AWS, Quantinuum, and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich to participate online to share quantum The current status and future trends of science and technology development will expand Taiwan’s attention to quantum computing research in order to promote the overall development of Taiwan’s quantum technology industry.
Zhang Qingrui, advisory member of Hon Hai Research Institute, chairman of Taiwan Quantum Computer and Information Technology Association, and director of National Taiwan University-IBM Quantum Computer Center, said that the current technological development of quantum technology can be divided into several important areas, including superconducting qubits promoted by IBM. As well as the ion trap technology promoted by Quantinuum (formerly Honeywell) and IonQ, the Hon Hai Research Institute will invest in the development of ion trap after evaluating the development of manpower, material resources and possibilities, and hopes to gather Taiwan’s key human resources and integrate the silicon island The foundation for the future advancement of vector quantum technology, the establishment of Taiwan’s basic research and development capabilities and the possibility of future development of ion trap quantum computers, it is hoped that in the future, it will be able to occupy a place in the world like the semiconductor industry.
Ion trap, also known as ion trap, is a device that traps ions within a certain range using electric or magnetic fields. The trapping of ions is realized in a vacuum, and the ions do not contact the surface of the device. Ion traps can be applied to realize quantum computers, capable of manipulating and using ion qubits. The advantages of the ion trap hardware platform include the consistency of the qubit structure, coherence time, gate fidelity, operating temperature, and scalability.
Liu Yangwei, Chairman of Hon Hai Technology Group and Dean of Hon Hai Research Institute, pointed out that as the growth rate of computer hardware slows and the computing power of traditional computers approaches saturation, in order to grasp the development opportunity of quantum computing technology, Hon Hai Research Institute will set a new record. The first in Taiwan’s industry, the establishment of the first ion trap laboratory. Zhang Mingxian, an associate researcher of the Institute of Atomic and Molecular Sciences of the Academia Sinica, and Lin Junda, an associate professor of the Department of Physics, National Taiwan University, were invited to participate in the preparation, and an associate professor Lin Junda was invited to serve as the ion trap of Hon Hai Research Institute. lab administrator.
He also pointed out that the Hon Hai Research Institute has invested in design, R&D, and manufacturing to develop practical quantum computing basic technologies including chip-type ion traps, miniaturized vacuums, integrated optics and circuits, packaging and stacking.
In addition, he also emphasized that quantum technology is a key technology to change the world in the future. In Hon Hai's "3+3" field, quantum computing is an important weapon for the transformation of "F3.0" technology. Hon Hai's "3+3" includes three fields of electric vehicles, digital health, and robotics, as well as three technologies of artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, and new era communications.
Liu Yangwei pointed out that quantum technology is hailed as the solution of the next era, and is regarded as an important technology that drives the transformation of artificial intelligence, new era communications, semiconductors, and information security. However, for quantum computers to truly take advantage of their advantages and mature quantum applications, there are still many technical bottlenecks that need to be broken through. Therefore, we must focus on cultivating outstanding talents in quantum computing in Taiwan while creating a research environment with both quality and international prestige to attract international attention. The joining of talents is an urgent task at this stage.
Talking about Taiwan's advantages in quantum computer research and development, Liu Yangwei believes that Taiwan has the world's top semiconductor industry and can accelerate the research and development of quantum computer hardware to catch up with international forward-looking technologies as soon as possible. Through the establishment of Taiwan’s first ion trap laboratory, the Quantum Computing Research Institute of Hon Hai Research Institute will actively cultivate Taiwan’s talents in quantum technology, hoping to successfully continue Taiwan’s advantages in the semiconductor industry and create a miracle in the information industry of the next era.
Liu Yangwei, Chairman of Hon Hai Technology Group
He said that Taiwan has a complete semiconductor industry chain and is bound to become the best help for the development of quantum computers. Taiwan should establish a series of intellectual property rights on key technologies, including fault-tolerant computing, quantum sensing, quantum communication, quantum cryptography, etc., and actively invest in the research and development of quantum computer hardware to continue the advantages of the semiconductor industry, starting from the design of quantum computers. Start with manufacturing, and then develop key technologies for quantum computers and peripheral equipment.
Regarding the development plan of the ion trap quantum computer, Lin Junda, director of the ion trap laboratory of Hon Hai Research Institute, said that with the establishment of the ion trap laboratory, in the future, it will combine the capabilities of Hon Hai Technology Group in semiconductor, information communication and precision manufacturing to develop ion Core hardware facilities such as trap chips, integrated optics, and advanced integrated circuits are led by the Institute of Quantum Computing to develop quantum compilers and seek industry cooperation. It is expected to launch 5 to 10 qubit open source, programmable ion trap quantum computers within 5 years , For use in community teaching and training in Taiwan.
link：https://www.honhai.com/zh-tw/press-center/press-releases/latest-news/722
