The creation of a quantum circuit at the atomic size has been revealed by Australian researchers, who say it incorporates all the required parts of a conventional computer chip but on a much, much smaller scale. Once put together, the small processor proved capable of finishing a difficult operation that classical computers find challenging, constituting a significant advance in the quest for scalable and useful quantum computing.
Silicon Quantum Computing (SQC) creator Michelle Simmons AO stated in a statement, “This is a big advance.” Due to the numerous conceivable interactions between atoms, traditional computers today have difficulty simulating even relatively tiny molecules. SQC and its clients will be able to create quantum models for a variety of novel materials, whether they be medicines, materials for batteries, or catalysts, thanks to the advancement of atomic-scale circuit technology. Soon, we’ll be able to realize novel materials that have never been realized before.
The development of an atomic-scale integrated circuit using ideas outlined by renowned professor Richard Feynman is the culmination of two decades of study and was just published in Nature. Quantum dots, tiny silicon semiconductors just a few nanometers in size, are used in atomic-scale circuits to process information. Manufacturing them at such a small scale takes exceptional engineering. The University of New South Wales and Silicon Quantum Computing researchers first needed to make uniform dots that could line up and transmit data to one another. Next, each dot must be programmed to operate at various energy levels and as a component of a bigger device made up of several dots.
Finally, the spacing between each dot must be quite exact to retain the dots’ independence since they cannot be too near to one another or else electrons would not be able to travel along them. When the processor was finished, it was tested by simulating the quantum states of the organic molecule polyacetylene, an operation that would take a very long time on a conventional computer. The processor proved it was working by completing the task successfully.
“SQC’s technical strategy to prioritize quality above quantity is validated by the device’s superb accuracy. A completely new world is now possible because to the incredibly accurate manufacturing technologies we have developed. It is a significant step toward developing a practical quantum computer, according to Simmons.
In the quest for a workable quantum computer, the researchers now seek to scale the apparatus up to even more difficult problems that conventional computers are unable to tackle. According to Stephen Menzies, chair of SQC, “SQC’s engineers are now scaling the technology to handle more industrially important compounds and as a business we look forward to building targeted industry partnerships to fulfill their simulation needs.”
