{"id":1159396,"date":"2026-08-20T13:49:33","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T13:49:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1159396\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T13:49:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T13:49:33","slug":"ibms-modular-quantum-cryogenics-solves-space-not-scaling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1159396\/","title":{"rendered":"IBM\u2019s Modular Quantum Cryogenics Solves Space, Not Scaling"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\/\/php echo do_shortcode(‘[responsivevoice_button voice=”US English Male” buttontext=”Listen to Post”]’) ?><\/p>\n

IBM announced this morning<\/a> that it has connected and cooled the first two modules of a new cryogenic architecture designed to support multiple quantum processors, marking another step on its roadmap toward a fault-tolerant quantum computer<\/a> in 2029.<\/p>\n

But the milestone also illustrates how the quantum scaling problem is changing. Building larger systems is no longer simply a matter of putting more qubits on a chip. The surrounding infrastructure\u2014cooling, wiring, control electronics, processor-to-processor links, and system reliability\u2014has to scale with them.<\/p>\n

The two connected modules, operating at IBM\u2019s Poughkeepsie, New York, facility, can cool to below 15 millikelvins, the company said. Their box-shaped design allows them to sit alongside one another, creating a shared cryogenic environment with considerably more room for wiring and processor interconnects than IBM\u2019s earlier systems. According to IBM, each module offers up to 12 times more wiring space than its most widely used quantum systems.<\/p>\n

At a pre-announcement press event on Monday, IBM emphasized that the system is operational cryogenic hardware rather than a concept design. But quantum processors are not yet operating across the two modules. The company plans to install one Nighthawk processor in each module later this year and demonstrate the connection between them.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"Running<\/a><\/p>\n

By Arduino Team\u00a0 08.19.2026<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

By Raphi Zadicario, Product Manager and Chief Architect, Lumissil Microsystems\u00a0 08.17.2026<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"Enabling<\/a><\/p>\n

By Krizelle Paulene Apostol , Software Systems Engineer, Jamila Macagba , Senior Software Systems Engineer, and Maggie Maralit , Software Systems Design Engineering Manager\u00a0 08.13.2026<\/p>\n

Scaling the refrigerator<\/strong><\/p>\n

The need for a larger cryogenic architecture reflects a broader problem: Scaling a quantum computer means finding room not only for qubits, but also for the wiring, connectors, shielding, control hardware, and other infrastructure surrounding them.<\/p>\n

\"JanneJanne Lehtinen<\/p>\n

In an exclusive interview with EE Times, Janne Lehtinen<\/a>, CTO and co-founder of SemiQon<\/a>, independently identified wiring and control as among the biggest barriers to scaling quantum hardware.<\/p>\n

According to Lehtinen, today\u2019s systems can require roughly 2.5 cables per qubit, he said. Those are often coaxial cables accompanied by attenuators, amplifiers, couplers, and connectors. \u201cYou are going to end up having millions of connectors in your setup, which are not that reliable,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are too many things that can go wrong in this kind of mechanical assembly.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said a brute-force extension of that architecture becomes increasingly impractical somewhere in the thousands or tens of thousands of qubits.<\/p>\n

IBM\u2019s new system gives the company considerably more physical room to work with and enables more chip-to-chip connections within and between modules.\u00a0But more space does not eliminate the wiring problem.<\/p>\n

\"AnAn inside view of two of IBM\u2019s modular cryogenic systems, designed to support fault-tolerant quantum computing in a scalable manner (Source: IBM)<\/p>\n

Oliver Dial<\/a>, VP of Quantum Systems at IBM, wrote EE Times in a follow-up exchange that the company believes its current plans can support thousands of qubits per module. And because the wiring bays can be changed without rebuilding the entire cryogenic system, IBM hopes the architecture will also give it room to improve wiring density later.<\/p>\n

Longer term, simply making room for more cables may not be enough. Lehtinen argues that large quantum computers will require more control electronics to move into the cryogenic environment and closer to the quantum processor. \u201cYou cannot put millions of cables in your fridge,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

SemiQon is developing cryogenic electronics for both silicon spin and superconducting qubits. Silicon spin qubits can operate at somewhat higher temperatures than superconducting qubits, Lehtinen said, giving engineers more cooling power to work with and making it easier to integrate control electronics close to the processor.<\/p>\n

\"SemiQonSemiQon chiplets and motherboard (Source: SemiQon)<\/p>\n

IBM is moving in the same general direction. Dial wrote that IBM is actively researching cryo-CMOS, particularly for its tunable couplers.<\/p>\n

That suggests the larger refrigerator is not necessarily the final answer to the wiring problem. It gives IBM room to scale its current architecture while it works on technologies that could eventually reduce the amount of room-temperature wiring required.<\/p>\n

Modularity creates an interconnect problem<\/strong><\/p>\n

Splitting a quantum computer across processors creates another challenge: The processors have to communicate closely enough to behave like one machine.<\/p>\n

IBM plans to do that with its L-coupler technology<\/a>, which carries microwave photons across an aluminum superconducting cable between processors. The company said it has demonstrated a two-qubit operation across an L-coupler with 99.3% fidelity and is targeting 99.9%.<\/p>\n

\"TwoTwo of IBM\u2019s modular cryogenic systems, side by side, with the doors closed (Source: IBM)<\/p>\n

Lehtinen, who had not been briefed on IBM\u2019s announcement, said links between separate processors ultimately need performance close to that of two-qubit gates within a processor. \u201c99.9 sounds very reasonable,\u201d he said, although the precise requirement will depend partly on algorithms and how frequently those links are used.<\/p>\n

Dial wrote that the main limitation on IBM\u2019s current L-coupler fidelity is the coherence of the qubits connected to it. The planned Nighthawk demonstration will test not only inter-processor fidelity and state transfer, but also whether linking the processors reduces the performance of the individual processors.<\/p>\n

In an exclusive interview with EE Times, Charles Foley<\/a>, CEO of quantum networking company memQ<\/a>, said that once processors are connected, interconnects become a different engineering problem from classical networking. \u201cYou\u2019re dealing with an uncertain probability that degrades over time,\u201d Foley said.<\/p>\n

Quantum links are constrained not simply by bandwidth, he said, but by photon loss, fidelity, coherence time, and the rate at which entanglement can be established.<\/p>\n

\"CharlesCharles (Chuck) Foley<\/p>\n

For Foley, the longer-term test is whether quantum interconnects can move beyond bespoke demonstrations and become engineered subsystems with defined specifications for parameters such as wavelength, encoding, coherence, loss, and entanglement rate.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s also an important distinction for IBM. Making the cryogenic environment modular solves one physical scaling problem, but it puts more pressure on the links between processors to perform reliably enough that the modules behave as one computer.<\/p>\n

Reliability becomes the next test<\/strong><\/p>\n

IBM itself acknowledges that scaling the cryogenic environment does not remove the other engineering challenges. At the pre-announcement press event, IBM identified control electronics and system reliability among the biggest remaining obstacles on the road to fault-tolerant computing.<\/p>\n

Dial wrote afterward that connectors and room-temperature control electronics concern him particularly because both scale at one or more channels per qubit.\u00a0That closely echoes Lehtinen\u2019s concern about the sheer number of cables and connectors required by today\u2019s control architectures.<\/p>\n

Modularity does not yet mean easy maintenance either. Dial wrote that replacing anything cryogenic in the new system would still require warming and cooling the system as a whole. IBM is studying operational redundancy, including a possible \u201cfail-in-place\u201d strategy.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s important to Foley, who pointed out how priorities will change when quantum computers evolve from bespoke research systems into commercial products.\u00a0\u201cIn order to have utility, scale, and commercial feasibility, they have to be serviceable and maintainable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

IBM has now demonstrated that the cryogenic environment itself can be modularized. The harder question is whether everything inside and between those modules\u2014wiring, controls, processors, connectors, and quantum links\u2014can scale with it.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Read also:<\/p>\n

AI Hardware\u2019s Next Frontier Is Integration<\/a><\/p>\n

GlobalFoundries\u2019 Growth Makes the Case for a U.S. Photonics Buildout<\/a><\/p>\n

CEA-Leti Pushes Stacking Roadmap as AI Runs into Memory and Power Limits<\/a><\/p>\n

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AI AND BIG DATA<\/a>, CHIPLET<\/a>, CRYOGENIC TECHNOLOGIES<\/a>, QUANTUM<\/a>, SEMICONDUCTORS<\/a>\n <\/p>\n

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IBM<\/a>, MEMQ<\/a>, SEMIQON<\/a>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\/\/php echo do_shortcode(‘[responsivevoice_button voice=”US English Male” buttontext=”Listen to Post”]’) ?> IBM announced this morning that it has connected…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1159397,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3845],"tags":[75465,100133,314990,74,3591,70,31167,16,15],"class_list":["post-1159396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-physics","tag-ai-and-big-data","tag-chiplet","tag-cryogenic-technologies","tag-physics","tag-quantum","tag-science","tag-semiconductors","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/117128161222678140","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1159396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1159396"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1159396\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1159397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1159396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1159396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1159396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}