Superconducting cable from Rosatom: a breakthrough for Russian quantum computers
Imagine a temperature just a few thousandths of a degree above absolute zero. In such extreme conditions — at minus 273 degrees Celsius — qubits, the heart of a quantum computer, exist. And to control them, a special “conductor” that will not let you down is needed. Scientists from Rosatom have created one.
Specialists at the Bochvar Institute (part of the State Corporation’s Fuel Division) have developed an innovative coaxial cable assembly for superconducting quantum computers. What’s the special feature? The cable is made of a niobium-titanium alloy — a material proven over years in “megascience” class research projects. But the main thing is that it is designed specifically to operate in a cryostat, at those same ultra-low temperatures, without introducing noise into the signal.
“Our advantage is resistance to repeated temperature changes. The cable withstands up to ten cycles of cooling and heating without a single crack. It also has very low signal attenuation in the high-frequency range, which is critically important for computational accuracy,” explains Maxim Alekseev, Deputy Director of the institute’s scientific department.
Together with industrial partners, about 200 meters of this cable have already been manufactured in two standard sizes. Soon it will be tested on real quantum computers in the country’s leading technical universities and research centers.
By the way, this development is part of a larger effort. Rosatom has been responsible for the “Quantum Computing” roadmap since 2020. The project involves 19 institutes and more than 600 researchers. Russia has already entered the top 6 countries that have created operating quantum processors with 50 or more qubits. And now, the emergence of its own specialized cable is another step towards making quantum computers not just a laboratory experiment, but a truly working technology.
