Innovative Integrated Circuits
for Quantum Computing
As a spin-off of the Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, IceCirc GmbH builds on over a decade of cryogenic IC design and quantum system integration. We engineer ultra-low-power ASICs operating directly at cryogenic temperatures, redefining how qubit control architectures are designed, integrated, and scaled.
We are building the electronic foundation for the first economically scalable million-qubit quantum processors.
The Scientific & Economic Bottleneck
Quantum computing does not fail at the qubit – it fails at the interface. Today’s quantum systems rely mainly on room-temperature instruments connected via hundreds of coaxial cables to millikelvin qubits. This architecture creates three fundamental bottlenecks:
Thermal limitations
Cryostats cannot cool more than ≈1000 coaxial lines.
Power dissipation constraints
Existing cryogenic approaches remain too power-hungry for million-qubit systems.
Economic infeasibility
With today’s electronics, scaling to 1M qubits would cost tens of billions of dollars in cabling, control hardware, and infrastructure.
Most critically, a scalable, low-power, qubit-aware cryogenic electronic interface has not yet been demonstrated.
Without a new electronic architecture, quantum computing cannot reach commercial scale.
Our Technological Solution
Qubit-Aware Cryogenic Integration
IceCirc GmbH develops ultra-low-power cryogenic ASICs integrated directly inside the cryostat, close to the qubits.
Our qubit-aware design philosophy means:
Electronics are optimized for qubit physics
RF multi- and demultiplexing drastically reduces cable count
Control and readout are integrated on different temperature-stages
Thermal load is minimized through architectural co-design
Rather than adapting classical semiconductor solutions,we rethink control and readout electronics from first principles, combining cryogenic CMOS, RF engineering, and system-level optimization.
This enables scalable control architectures from 100 to 1,000 to 1 Mio. qubits.
Technology Stack & Core Competencies
IceCirc GmbH operates at the intersection of quantum device physics, semiconductor engineering, and system architecture. Our capabilities include:
Architecture-Level Co-Simulation
Cost-efficient analysis of:
- System-level performance and cost functions
- Electronics behavior
- Electrostatic potentials
- Quantum solvers
Qubit–Electronics Co-Design
Cost-efficient analysis of interaction between cryogenic electronics and qubits
Advanced CMOS Integration
Design in state-of-the-art semiconductor nodes compatible with cryogenic environments
Scalable Multiplexing Architectures
Cryogenic multiplexed readout and control systems designed for large-scale quantum hardware
Cryogenic RF & Mixed-Signal IC Design
Ultra-low-power ASICs validated for cryogenic operation
Enabling Economic and Scalable Quantum Computing
The global race toward large-scale quantum computing is accelerating — but scalability remains the decisive challenge. We address the single largest cost and infrastructure bottleneck: control electronics.
IceCirc GmbH originates from the Institute for Integrated Computing Architectures (ICA | PGI-4) at the Forschungszentrum Jülich, one of Europe’s leading institutions in quantum technologies and high-performance computing.
Our foundation includes:
- 10+ years of cryogenic IC design experience
- Demonstrated qubit–electronics integration
- Deep expertise in semiconductor process technologies
- Advanced system modeling and co-simulation capabilities
We combine academic research depth with industrial semiconductor execution.
Our expertise enables:
- Participation in national and European funding programs
- Strategic partnerships with quantum system manufacturers
- Technology transfer from research to scalable product architectures
IceCirc GmbH bridges the gap between research and commercially deployable quantum hardware.
