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Infineon Technologies AG and ZuriQ AG, a Swiss quantum computing company spun out of ETH Zurich, today announced the expansion of their collaboration to advance scalable quantum computing hardware. The partnership combines ZuriQ’s pioneering trapped-ion quantum computing architecture with Infineon’s expertise in semiconductor manufacturing, advanced packaging, and integrated photonics.
Previous development work by ZuriQ and Infineon demonstrated the feasibility of this novel architecture by trapping a 3×3 array of nine individually controlled ions, achieving the largest two-dimensional array of its kind to date. The next step in the partnership is to scale the technology to significantly larger qubit counts. ZuriQ’s quantum innovation and Infineon’s industrial-scale semiconductor manufacturing expertise will jointly advance the development of next-generation quantum computing systems.
“Advancing quantum computing toward commercial impact will require close collaboration between quantum innovators and industrial technology leaders,” said Pavel Hrmo, co-founder and CEO of ZuriQ. “Through our collaboration with Infineon, which possesses a deep understanding of process development and semiconductor technologies, we are turning ZuriQ’s technological progress into scalable, manufacturable quantum hardware. This partnership brings us closer to developing quantum computing technologies for real-world applications.”
“Progress in quantum computing requires breakthroughs in physics, but also robust manufacturing technologies capable of supporting the development of future large-scale systems,” said Clemens Rössler, Senior Director and Head of Quantum Processing Units at Infineon. “With our expertise in semiconductor manufacturing, integration and advanced packaging, we are enabling the next generation of trapped-ion quantum processing units. By combining our semiconductor competence with ZuriQ’s design and architecture expertise, we are taking an important step toward industrializing this key technology.”
Unlike conventional trapped-ion quantum computers that use one-dimensional ion chains, ZuriQ has developed a natively two-dimensional Penning micro-trap architecture that uses electric and magnetic fields to move ions directly across the chip. The design avoids complex junction structures, making it easier to accommodate larger qubit arrays. Integrating this approach with Infineon’s advanced photonics and semiconductor processes is central to accelerating the transition from laboratory demonstration to real-world applications.
Two-dimensional trapped-ion technology offers a promising path toward precise, scalable quantum processors for fault-tolerant quantum computing and commercial applications. Quantum computers have the potential to solve highly complex problems beyond the capabilities of conventional computers and supercomputers.
This collaboration between an innovative quantum computing start-up and a global semiconductor leader enhances Europe’s quantum ecosystem and strengthens Europe’s position in this strategically important area. Further advances in this field are expected to accelerate innovation across high-impact sectors such as medicine, logistics, materials science, and artificial intelligence, helping solve some of the world’s most complex computational challenges.
