Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Article
  • Published:

A cryo-CMOS chip that integrates silicon quantum dots and multiplexed dispersive readout electronics

Nature Electronics volume 5, pages 53–59 (2022)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

As quantum computers grow in complexity, the technology will have to evolve from large distributed systems to compact integrated solutions. Spin qubits in silicon quantum dots are thought to offer good scalability because both spin-carrying quantum dots and support complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) electronics can, in principle, be monolithically integrated on a single chip. However, monolithically integrated quantum–classical hybrid circuits based on industry-standard CMOS technology remain limited. Here we report a millikelvin integrated circuit fabricated using 40 nm CMOS technology that integrates silicon quantum-dot arrays with support electronics in an architecture that allows the array to be efficiently addressed and read. The architecture contains integrated microwave lumped-element resonators for dispersive sensing of the charge state of the quantum dots, mediated via digital transistors in a column–row-addressing distribution. With the chip, we demonstrate combined time- and frequency-division multiplexing, which scales sublinearly the resources as well as footprint required for readout.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Fully integrated cryogenic CMOS quantum–classical matrix.
Fig. 2: Integrated gate-based reflectometry.
Fig. 3: Integrated time-multiplexed readout.
Fig. 4: Integrated time- and frequency-multiplexed readout.

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

The data that support the plots within this paper and other findings of this study are available from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request.

References

  1. Montanaro, A. Quantum algorithms: an overview. npj Quantum Inf. 2, 15023 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Arute, F. et al. Quantum supremacy using a programmable superconducting processor. Nature 574, 505–510 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Watson, T. F. et al. A programmable two-qubit quantum processor in silicon. Nature 555, 633–637 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Veldhorst, M. et al. An addressable quantum dot qubit with fault-tolerant control-fidelity. Nat. Nanotechnol. 9, 981–985 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Urdampilleta, M. et al. Gate-based high fidelity spin readout in a CMOS device. Nat. Nanotechnol. 14, 737–741 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Yoneda, J. et al. A quantum-dot spin qubit with coherence limited by charge noise and fidelity higher than 99.9%. Nat. Nanotechnol. 13, 102–106 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Huang, W. et al. Fidelity benchmarks for two-qubit gates in silicon. Nature 569, 532–536 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Zajac, D. M. et al. Resonantly driven CNOT gate for electron spins. Science 359, 439–442 (2018).

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  9. Fowler, A. G. et al. Surface codes: towards practical large-scale quantum computation. Phys. Rev. A 86, 032324 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Kawakami, E. et al. Electrical control of a long-lived spin qubit in a Si/SiGe quantum dot. Nat. Nanotechnol. 9, 666–670 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Maurand, R. et al. A CMOS silicon spin qubit. Nat. Commun. 7, 13575 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Yang, T.-Y. et al. Quantum transport in 40-nm MOSFETs at deep-cryogenic temperatures. IEEE Electron Device Lett. 41, 981–984 (2020).

    Google Scholar 

  13. Bonen, S. et al. Cryogenic characterization of 22-nm FDSOI CMOS technology for quantum computing ICs. IEEE Electron Device Lett. 40, 127–130 (2019).

    Google Scholar 

  14. Veldhorst, M. et al. Silicon CMOS architecture for a spin-based quantum computer. Nat. Commun. 8, 1766 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Vandersypen, L. M. K. et al. Interfacing spin qubits in quantum dots and donors—hot, dense, and coherent. npj Quantum Inf. 3, 34 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Li, R. et al. A crossbar network for silicon quantum dot qubits. Sci. Adv. 4, 3960 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Charbon, E. et al. Cryo-CMOS for quantum computing. In 2016 IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) 13.5.1–13.5.4 (IEEE, 2016).

  18. Reilly, D. J. Engineering the quantum-classical interface of solid-state qubits. npj Quantum Inf. 1, 15011 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Reilly, D. J. Challenges in scaling-up the control interface of a quantum computer. In 2019 IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) 31.7.1–31.7.6 (IEEE, 2019).

  20. Le Guevel, L. et al. 19.2 A 110mK 295μW 28nm FDSOI CMOS quantum integrated circuit with a 2.8GHz excitation and nA current sensing of an on-chip double quantum dot. In 2020 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) 306–308 (IEEE, 2020).

  21. Opremcak, A. et al. Measurement of a superconducting qubit with a microwave photon counter. Science 361, 1239–1242 (2018).

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  22. Yang, C. H. et al. Operation of a silicon quantum processor unit cell above one kelvin. Nature 580, 350–354 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Petit, L. et al. Universal quantum logic in hot silicon qubits. Nature 580, 355–359 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Xue, X. et al. CMOS-based cryogenic control of silicon quantum circuits. Nature 593, 205–210 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Pauka, S. J. et al. A cryogenic CMOS chip for generating control signals for multiple qubits. Nat. Electron. 4, 64–70 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Hornibrook, J. M. et al. Frequency multiplexing for readout of spin qubits. Appl. Phys. Lett. 104, 103108 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Pauka, S. J. et al. Characterizing quantum devices at scale with custom cryo-CMOS. Phys. Rev. Appl. 13, 054072 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Potočnik, A. et al. Millikelvin temperature cryo-CMOS multiplexer for scalable quantum device characterisation. Quantum Sci. Technol. 7, 015004 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Paquelet Wuetz, B. et al. Multiplexed quantum transport using commercial off-the-shelf CMOS at sub-kelvin temperatures. npj Quantum Inf. 6, 43 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Schaal, S. et al. Dynamic random access architecture for radio-frequency readout of quantum devices. Nat. Electron. 2, 236–242 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. West, A. et al. Gate-based single-shot readout of spins in silicon. Nat. Nanotechnol. 14, 437–441 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Colless, J. I. et al. Dispersive readout of a few-electron double quantum dot with fast rf gate sensors. Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 046805 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Wallraff, A. et al. Strong coupling of a single photon to a superconducting qubit using circuit quantum electrodynamics. Nature 431, 162–167 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Zwanenburg, F. A. et al. Silicon quantum electronics. Rev. Mod. Phys. 85, 961–1019 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Ares, N. et al. Sensitive radio-frequency measurements of a quantum dot by tuning to perfect impedance matching. Phys. Rev. Appl. 5, 034011 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Samkharadze, N. et al. Strong spin-photon coupling in silicon. Science 359, 1123–1127 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Mi, X. et al. A coherent spin-photon interface in silicon. Nature 555, 599–603 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Zheng, G. et al. Rapid gate-based spin read-out in silicon using an on-chip resonator. Nat. Nanotechnol. 14, 742–746 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Le Guevel, L. et al. Compact gate-based read-out of multiplexed quantum devices with a cryogenic CMOS active inductor. Preprint at https://arxiv.org/abs/2102.04364 (2021).

  40. Ahmed, I. et al. Radio-frequency capacitive gate-based sensing. Phys. Rev. Appl. 10, 014018 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Gonzalez-Zalba, M. F. et al. Probing the limits of gate-based charge sensing. Nat. Commun. 6, 6084 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Ahmed, I. et al. Primary thermometry of a single reservoir using cyclic electron tunneling to a quantum dot. Commun. Phys. 1, 66 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Leon, R. C. C. et al. Bell-state tomography in a silicon many-electron artificial molecule. Nat. Commun. 12, 3228 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Laucht, A. et al. Electrically controlling single-spin qubits in a continuous microwave field. Sci. Adv. 1, e1500022 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Ansaloni, F. et al. Single-electron operations in a foundry-fabricated array of quantum dots. Nat. Commun. 11, 6399 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Shearrow, A. et al. Atomic layer deposition of titanium nitride for quantum circuits. Appl. Phys. Lett. 113, 212601 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Schaal, S. et al. Fast gate-based readout of silicon quantum dots using Josephson parametric amplification. Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 067701 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Ruffino, A. et al. 13.2 A fully-integrated 40-nm 5-6.5 GHz cryo-CMOS system-on-chip with I/Q receiver and frequency synthesizer for scalable multiplexed readout of quantum dots. In 2021 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) 210–212 (IEEE, 2021).

  49. Prabowo, B. et al. A 6-to-8GHz 0.17mW/qubit cryo-CMOS receiver for multiple spin qubit readout in 40nm CMOS technology. In 2021 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) 212–214 (IEEE, 2021).

  50. van Dijk, J. P. G. et al. A scalable cryo-CMOS controller for the wideband frequency-multiplexed control of spin qubits and transmons. IEEE J. Solid State Circuits 55, 2930–2946 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  51. Beckers, A. et al. Cryogenic MOS transistor model. IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 65, 3617–3625 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. Patra, B. et al. Characterization and analysis of on-chip microwave passive components at cryogenic temperatures. IEEE J. Electron Devices Soc. 8, 448–456 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to S. Schaal for providing useful comments. M.F.G.-Z. was affiliated with Hitachi Cambridge Laboratory at the time of designing and preparing the experiments and is currently affiliated with Quantum Motion Technologies. The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement nos. 688539 and 951852. M.F.G.-Z. acknowledges support from the Royal Society, Innovate UK’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund and UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship under grant no. MR/V023284/1.

Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Andrea Ruffino, Tsung-Yeh Yang.

  2. These authors jointly supervised: Edoardo Charbon, Miguel Fernando Gonzalez-Zalba.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Advanced Quantum Architecture Laboratory, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Neuchâtel, Switzerland

    Andrea Ruffino, Yatao Peng & Edoardo Charbon

  2. Hitachi Cambridge Laboratory, Hitachi Europe Ltd, Cambridge, UK

    Tsung-Yeh Yang & Miguel Fernando Gonzalez-Zalba

  3. Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    John Michniewicz

  4. Quantum Motion Technologies, Nexus, Leeds, UK

    Miguel Fernando Gonzalez-Zalba

Authors
  1. Andrea Ruffino
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Tsung-Yeh Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. John Michniewicz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Yatao Peng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Edoardo Charbon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Miguel Fernando Gonzalez-Zalba
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

A.R., M.F.G.-Z. and E.C. conceived the architecture and devised the experiments. A.R. and Y.P. designed the chip with inputs from E.C. and M.F.G.-Z. T.-Y.Y., J.M., M.F.G.-Z. and A.R. performed the experiments and analysed the results. A.R., T.-Y.Y. and M.F.G.-Z. wrote the manuscript with inputs from all the co-authors. M.F.G.-Z. and E.C. supervised all the experiments.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Andrea Ruffino or Tsung-Yeh Yang.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

M.F.G.-Z. is employed by Quantum Motion Technologies, a start-up focusing on building a silicon-based quantum computer. All other authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Peer review information Nature Electronics thanks the anonymous reviewers for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Extended data

Extended Data Fig. 1 Experimental measurement setup.

Dilution refrigerator measurement setup for the time- and frequency-multiplexed gate-based readout experiment. The DUT is placed at 50 mK on the sample stage of the dilution refrigerator. A cryogenic circulator is placed at the mixing chamber plate and a low-noise amplifier and attenuators are placed at intermediate cryogenic temperatures (~3 K). At room temperature, two microwave signal sources are power-combined to generate two multiplexed single-tone probing signals fmw1 and fmw2, and two I/Q mixers are used to demodulate the reflected signals RF1 and RF2 at the two frequencies, by using the microwave sources as respective local oscillators LO1 and LO2. An oscilloscope acquires the I/Q outputs for each of the two tones.

Extended Data Fig. 2 Signal-to-noise ratio analysis.

a, Trace of reflectometry signal Vmw as a function of VDL1 from an individual measurement of quantum device Q13, corresponding to the black line section in the bottom left inset (left panel in Fig. 2c). The red curve is a Lorentzian fit to the experimental data. Top left inset: zoom-in of the background noise. σ is the standard deviation of noise signals. b, Trace of Vmw as a function of VDL1 for Q13 from an individual device measurement (middle panel in Fig. 3a). A is the Coulomb peak amplitude from the fit. c, Trace of Vmw as a function of VDL1 for Q13 from the time-domain multiplexing measurement (middle panel in Fig. 3c). The measurement in a was performed in a different cool down thermal cycle with respect to those in b and c, while the measurements in b and c are within the same cool down.

Extended Data Fig. 3 Data processing.

a, A single sweep of reflectometry signal Vmw (grey curve) as a function of time t at VS1 = 0 V corresponding to Fig. 3c. The data show the reflectometry signals from Q12 (t = 0 to 8.33 ms), Q13 (t = 8.33 to 16.67 ms), and Q11 (t = 16.67 to 25 ms). The light blue, light green, and gold curves are fits to the data and are used as backgrounds for data processing. b, Processed reflectometry signals of Q12 (blue), Q13 (green), and Q11 (gold) after subtracting the background fits. The arrows indicate Coulomb-blockade peaks.

Extended Data Table 1 Values of the circuit components
Full size table
Extended Data Table 2 Benchmark of signal-to-noise ratio analysis for device Q13
Full size table

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary Sections 1–5, refs. 53–60, Figs. 1–6 and Tables 1 and 2.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Ruffino, A., Yang, TY., Michniewicz, J. et al. A cryo-CMOS chip that integrates silicon quantum dots and multiplexed dispersive readout electronics. Nat Electron 5, 53–59 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41928-021-00687-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41928-021-00687-6

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing