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- "At the Microelectronics Forum, we will show a prototype of a 50-qubit quantum computer"
"At the Microelectronics Forum, we will show a prototype of a 50-qubit quantum computer"
Russian scientists are creating world-class developments. In particular, the Microelectronics Forum will show a prototype of a domestic 50-qubit quantum computer and a non-volatile memory device. This was reported by Gennady Krasnikov, President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in an interview with Izvestia. He also spoke about achievements in the field of trusted technologies, new architectures of Russian microprocessors, neuromorphic computers and bioelectronics.
"Microelectronics in Russia is developing with a broad front"
- Gennady Yakovlevich, the 10th Microelectronics Forum is coming up soon. Will the anniversary event be a breakthrough for our science?
- Both organizers and participants are carefully preparing for this event. A whole range of world-class domestic achievements will be presented. For example, at the forum we will show a prototype of a 50-qubit quantum computer on an ionic platform. It was developed at the Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Another novelty is non-volatile memory devices created at the Research Institute of Molecular Electronics. There will be many innovations in obtaining ultrapure materials, electronic engineering, and trusted technologies.
Achievements in the creation of new, "non-Fonneiman" computing architectures will also be presented. Their implementation will accelerate the processing of large amounts of data and artificial intelligence systems.
At the same time, many teams do not reveal their cards in advance. Therefore, many sensations are expected.
- How representative will the forum be?
- The announced format is a combination of many topics. Among other things, the forum will include events with the participation of representatives of government, science and business. They will consider measures for the organization of advanced development of the Russian microelectronics industry. There will also be numerous thematic plenary sessions and round tables.
In addition, 13 scientific sections will work at the forum. Each of them is comparable in its level to a large scientific-practical conference. In total, more than 1 thousand reports will be heard. At the same time over 140 organizations, high-tech companies and other participants will tell about their achievements within the framework of the exhibition program.
In general, more than 3 thousand people will take part in the forum. It will also include the School of Young Scientists and several pre-conferences.
- What benchmarks are set in the domestic microelectronics industry?
- The industry must become technologically independent. To achieve this, the government is investing significant funds in this area. Now microelectronics in Russia is developing on a broad front. Significant efforts are aimed at creating electronic machine building, automated production lines, which will help to roll out the manufacturing of products in the future. Another important direction is the creation of new technologies and especially pure materials for the microelectronics industry.
It is important to note the creation of "clean rooms". These are huge production spaces with strict control of unwanted impurities. Such infrastructure is necessary for the manufacture of modern microelectronics.
The cost of creating "clean rooms" is hundreds of billions of rubles. That is why there are only a few of them on a national scale. But other high-tech industries are clustered around such enterprises. Such clusters have been formed in Zelenograd, St. Petersburg, Voronezh. They will be developed in other cities as well.
- Will microelectronics become a driver for other industries?
- To ensure payback, microelectronic production must work non-stop, 24 hours a day, without weekends. That's why we need ancillary industries. In particular, the manufacture of components and materials to guarantee an uninterrupted supply. It is also important to build strategic stocks of resources. On the other hand, it is necessary to build sales, for which we need to lengthen production chains - to develop knowledge-intensive enterprises that utilize microelectronics in more complex redesigns.
Thus, the development of the industry promotes growth in other high-tech areas as well. However, to achieve this, as the experience of other countries shows, preferences and incentives are needed. For example, in Europe, when a microchip factory is built, the authorities allocate funds for its support, based on the calculation - about €1 million per one new job.
"Copying technologies in modern microelectronics is like trying to reproduce fingerprints"
- Does our country have enough scientific base for a breakthrough in microelectronics?
- Russian scientists are achieving world-class results in many areas. In addition, we have strong scientific schools. This is evidenced by the fact that many of our specialists are now working abroad, holding key positions in research centers around the world.
Another thing is that for a long time we have not paid due attention to the implementation of scientific developments in industry. Many processes in this sphere were outsourced to other countries. Now the accumulated gaps are being closed, and we are already feeling serious changes.
- What limits the development of microelectronics in our country?
- The main thing is the small size of the market, which leads to higher costs and higher production costs. The modern microelectronics industry requires a large market size - and sometimes one country is not enough for that. The problem of market size can be solved by joining economic unions. For example, within the framework of BRICS+.
Secondly, we need state protection of the industry. For example, import duties, subsidies, government orders, preferential lending, various tax breaks. Among other things, if a product enhances the technological independence of the country, non-market mechanisms can be used to support it.
Thirdly, we should keep in mind that copying technologies in modern microelectronics is like trying to reproduce fingerprints. One-to-one is very difficult. Therefore, copying is not a strategic way. Especially since the standard of living and labor conditions in our country do not allow us to create goods with minimal cost, and we need to win by making a significant intellectual contribution to the products.
"Databases are like natural resources, the national treasure of every country"
- What samples of domestic products are in demand in the world?
- There are many such areas. For example, Russian companies traditionally have good positions in power electronics, systems with an increased level of information protection, software development and machine learning.
There are also good developments in the design of microprocessor architecture. However, to make modern supercomputers, we need chips with a topology of 5 nanometers or less. We lag behind in this aspect, but our algorithms give us a gain in performance.
- How many supercomputers does Russian science need?
- There is always a shortage of such capacities, but this is normal. Modern databases are like natural resources, a national treasure of every country. Such banks of sensitive information include, for example, information about people's health, genetic collections, data on the mineral resource base.... The systematic accumulation, reliable protection and efficient processing of these databases (including with the help of artificial intelligence) will allow to multiply the wealth of the state.
At the same time, it is believed that every ten years the productivity for information processing should be increased a thousand times. That's the rhythm we maintain.
- Do alternative computing systems help in this?
- The industry is developing according to certain rules, which are reflected in roadmaps. At least 15 years ahead, we understand what opportunities may arise and what integrated circuits will ultimately yield gains for supercomputers.
There are different approaches - for example, quantum computing. They are realized in our country on different platforms - there are ion platforms, platforms on neutral atoms, photon platforms and others.
We are carefully studying such possibilities. But in the short term, they will not replace the classical computer and will be effective as applications for certain types of computing. It is too early to talk about an alternative to traditional electronics, but scientists are looking for synergies between classical and new approaches.
- Can the same be said for bioelectronics?
- Take neuromorphic computers, for example. They imitate the work of the brain, but their work is based on the same microchips. At the same time, 40% of the area of modern microprocessor systems is occupied by memory components. Therefore, the non-volatile types of memory mentioned above are one of the most promising elements for such systems.
It can also be noted that a lot of work is being done in researching new materials that can be used as buffers between inorganic electronics and organics. For example, we are conducting research where we are growing brain tissue and exploring its possibilities. Or, for example, we are growing muscle tissue, which allows us to test the effects of drugs at the preclinical stage.
