Intel releases Tunnel Falls, a 12-qubit silicon spin chip, to four universities and national labs

Intel/Silicon spin qubits

Intel released Tunnel Falls, its first silicon spin qubit chip, to the quantum research community. The 12-qubit chip is fabricated on standard 300 mm CMOS lines at Intel's D1 Oregon fab, achieving 95% yield with over 24,000 quantum-dot devices per wafer. Initial recipients include the University of Maryland, Sandia National Laboratories, the University of Rochester, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Tunnel Falls pairs with Horse Ridge II, Intel's cryogenic control processor, to manipulate and read qubit states.

• Silicon spin qubits are ~50 × 50 nm, one million times smaller than trapped-ion or superconducting qubits.
• Fabricated on standard CMOS equipment, enabling high yield and potential mass production.
• 95% fabrication yield shows the process is mature enough for quality manufacturing.
• Each wafer yields 24,000+ quantum-dot devices, suggesting future scalability.
• Horse Ridge II cryogenic control chip integrates qubit gate and readout operations.