QuantaMap raises €1.4 million to overcome hurdle in quantum

By Team IO

Dutch startup QuantaMap has secured €1.4 million in funding to improve the production of quantum computer chips, using a special microscope, the company said in a press release.

Quantum computers have the potential to solve problems that are impossible with current technologies, such as accelerating drug development and optimising logistics processes on an unprecedented scale.

But quantum chips are complex and difficult to produce. If they don’t work as well as they should (and they often don’t), there is no way to figure out why, which part failed and how to improve production processes. This is one of the biggest obstacles to scaling up quantum chips.

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A new microscope

QuantaMap has developed a new microscope that allows quantum researchers and chip manufacturers to accurately inspect each chip to ensure and improve quality. “Imagine if every quantum researcher and chip manufacturer had a finely tuned compass to navigate the unknown quantum landscape of their chips; that is what we are creating,” explains QuantaMap’s CEO Johannes Jobst.

The technology

Others in this sector offer traditional measurement solutions, but QuantaMap stands out for its combination of a cryogenic microscope technology (scanning a fine needle over the surface of the chip at extremely low temperatures) with quantum sensors, both of which are specifically tailored for quantum applications.

The technology is fine-tuned to the specific problems affecting the performance and production yield of quantum chips, particularly around identifying the origin of electrical losses and impurities at the nanometre scale. This is done by imaging local temperature rise, electric currents and magnetic fields. This is all done at low temperatures to ensure that conditions under which the chip functions properly are maintained during inspection.

Competing technologies are all unsuitable for quantum chips; either because they interfere with the qubits while measuring, or because they have a high chance of damaging the chip during the imaging process.

“Our unique sensors, intellectual property and advanced, quantum-centric approach give us years ahead of emerging competing technologies,” says Jobst.

The story so far

QuantaMap was founded in November 2022 by Johannes Jobst, Kaveh Lahabi, Milan Allan and Jimi de Haan. At Leiden University, Lahabi and his research team invented the quantum sensor at the heart of QuantaMap’s products. As there was a clear need for diagnostic tools for quantum computing, the team moved quickly to fill this gap in the market. QuantaMap aims to become the backbone of chip research and development and quality control in the quantum computing industry.