Magnetics Business & Technology - January/February 2023 - 8

FEATURE ARTICLE
FormFactor Advances Cryogenic Testing & Magnetic Probing for Quantum Developers
FormFactor's HPD IQ3000 for fully automated cryogenic wafer probing at 4K
Cryogenics and magnetic probing are enabling advancements
in the physical sciences to leverage superconductivity, magnetism
and quantum behaviors in new ways to provide unmatched
processing power, reduce energy use and improve sensor sensitivity.
As a result, R&D labs need test and measurement systems
with the ability to manifest extreme environments, leading
to a suite of product innovations by FormFactor, a provider of
test and measurement systems for the semiconductor industry.
Quantum computing, quantum sensing, fundamental electrical
transport property and magnetic property studies subject sample
materials and devices to cryogenic temperatures approaching
absolute zero, often with high magnetic fields or shielding
to eliminate these fields. FormFactor partners with companies
such as Lake Shore Cryotronics and Keysight Technologies to
offer researchers a comprehensive suite of tools, and now even
a laboratory service that alleviates the high capital investment
for such equipment.
They are addressing a sizeable and rapidly escalating opportunity.
The overall quantum computing market is projected to
grow to $1.7B by 2026 at a compound annual growth rate of
30.2%, say analysts at research firm MarketsandMarkets.
Introduced in October, for example, the IQ2000 die probing system
from FormFactor can cool devices from room temperature
to a 4K base temperature in less than one hour compared to
traditional cryogenic chip probing methods that can require 24
hours or more to accomplish the same temperature drop. The
system can dramatically expedite testing that requires ultra-low
temperature environments. Quantum developers benefit from
ten times faster cooling cycles without liquid cryogens, yielding
comprehensive statistical data and accelerating quantum
development cycles.
8 Magnetics Business & Technology * January/February 2023
" Quantum test engineers
have long struggled with
limited throughput due to the
time it takes to cool down
each device, " explains Amy
Leong, senior vice president
and general manager
of the company's emerging
growth business unit. " With
the IQ2000 we eliminate the
thermal cycle roadblock and
simultaneously enable parallel
probe test. "
SEEQC, a quantum computing
developer, has deployed
FormFactor's recently introduced
integrated measurement
solution as an early
adopter to markedly expedite
its quantum computing
research and development
program. Including the subIQ2000
die probe expedites testing
for quantum control chips, cryoCMOS,
photonic devices, niobiumbased
circuits, materials development
and other applications that
require ultra-low temperatures
50mK HPD Model 106 Adiabatic Demagnetization Refrigerator
from FormFactor and its PQ500 RF and DC probe socket, the
system complements sub-10mK dilution refrigerators to accelerate
cryogenic test cycles by more than two times.
" Wire-bonding of high-performance quantum and classical
superconducting integrated circuits is a time-consuming, low
reliability process that is a common hassle for many cryogenic
electronics developers, " said Oleg Mukhanov, CTO of SEEQC,
a developer of quantum computing systems in which superconducting
qubit and single flux quantum chips are combined to
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Magnetics Business & Technology - January/February 2023

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