Intel has edged one step closer to practical quantum computers. The chipmaker and its partner QuTech have successfully controlled “hot” qubits (that is, at temperatures above 1 kelvin) that are also coherent and dense, making it easier to put qubits and control electronics on the same chip and thus produce more advanced quantum computers. Until now, quantum computers had to run at temperatures in the millikelvin range, or barely above absolute zero (just under -460F) — for context, the average temperature in outer space is a balmy 3 kelvin.

The demonstration was still relatively modest. Intel and QuTech completed their test using two-qubit logic where cutting-edge quantum computers have dozens of qubits and a full-featured computer may need over 1 million. This is “just one step” toward scalable quantum computers, Intel said. It’s still an important step, though, and hints that the technology is more viable than it seems today.

The system-on-chip is based on Intel’s 22-nanometer FinFET Low Power process and includes four radio frequency channels that can control a total of 128 qubits. That may not sound like a lot, but it’s more than double the 49 qubits Intel was boasting for its Tangle Lake test chip back in early 2018. It should lead to smaller (or at least, more efficient) quantum computers by allowing one chip to handle more tasks without as many cables and rack instrumentations.

You can also expect faster, higher-fidelity qubits. Intel said Horse Ridge has “optimized” multiplexing that allows it to both scale and reduce the crosstalk errors that pop up when handling larger numbers of qubits at different frequencies. There should be greater accuracy and better overall performance. The chip can handle a wide frequency range, too, including superconducting qubits around 6GHz to 7GHz and smaller spin qubits at 13GHz to 20GHz.

Quantum computers that use Horse Ridge might not need to stay so cold, either. Intel is hoping to use silicon spin qubits that can operate at temperatures as “high” as 1 kelvin (just above -458F), and Horse Ridge “paves the way” for making a single package that combines those qubits with their controls.

As we’ve mentioned in the past, it’s estimated that a full-fledged quantum computer would need over 1 million qubits to be viable. Intel said in 2018 that it didn’t expect such chips to even be on the radar for another five to seven years, and that’s still a long while off. Horse Ridge shows how Intel is progressing toward that goal, though, and there are still tasks quantum computers can perform in the near term that might be impractical for conventional systems.