Cryo-CMOS Antenna for Wireless Communications within a Quantum Computer Cryostat

Abstract

Scaling quantum computers from a few qubits to large numbers remains one of the critical challenges in realizing practical quantum advantage. Multi-core quantum architectures have emerged as a promising solution, enabling scalability through distributed quantum processing units (QPUs) interconnected via classical and quantum links. However, the bottleneck of wired connections persists, as densely packed wired interconnects, both vertically across temperature stages and horizontally within the same layer, introduce spatial constraints, power dissipation, and latency, which could hinder performance as the number of QPUs increases. To overcome these limitations, this work proposes a cryo-compatible on-chip differential dipole antenna operating at 28 GHz to enable short-range wireless communication within a quantum computer cryostat. Temperature-dependent material properties are incorporated to accurately capture antenna behavior at 4 K. Moreover, by embedding the antenna in a realistic cryostat structure, we evaluate the feasibility of antenna operation within the cryogenic environment. The proposed antenna achieves a reflection coefficient of -20.8 dB in free space and -18.38 dB within the cryostat, demonstrating efficient impedance matching.