World's purest silicon propels quantum computing advancements

World's purest silicon propels quantum computing advancements
by Sophie Jenkins
London, UK (SPX) May 08, 2024

Over a century after scientists at The University of Manchester unveiled the nucleus in atoms, a new milestone in quantum computing has been achieved at the same institution. Leveraging a method initiated by Ernest Rutherford, renowned as "the founder of nuclear physics," researchers have now developed an ultra-pure silicon. This advancement is pivotal for constructing high-performance qubit devices essential for scalable quantum computers.

The study, appearing in Communications Materials - Nature, may significantly influence the progression of quantum computing technologies.

Richard Curry, Professor of Advanced Electronic Materials, said, "What we've been able to do is effectively create a critical 'brick' needed to construct a silicon-based quantum computer. It's a crucial step to making a technology that has the potential to be transformative for humankind - feasible; a technology that could give us the capability to process data at such as scale, that we will be able to find solutions to complex issues such as addressing the impact of climate change and tackling healthcare challenges."

Quantum computers rely on qubits to function, which are notoriously sensitive and demand a stable environment to operate effectively. Challenges such as environmental fluctuations can disrupt their stability, presenting significant hurdles in quantum computing development.

The physical and computational scalability of qubits is another concern; it is estimated that a fully operational quantum computer would need approximately one million qubits. Researchers at Manchester have devised a method to refine silicon by removing isotopes that cause instability, specifically Si-29 and Si-30, which contribute to 'nuclear flip flopping' and information loss.

Ravi Acharya, a PhD researcher involved in the project, explained, "The great advantage of silicon quantum computing is that the same techniques that are used to manufacture the electronic chips - currently within an everyday computer that consist of billions of transistors - can be used to create qubits for silicon-based quantum devices. The ability to create high quality Silicon qubits has in part been limited to date by the purity of the silicon starting material used. The breakthrough purity we show here solves this problem."

David Jamieson, Professor at the University of Melbourne and project co-supervisor, said, "Our technique opens the path to reliable quantum computers that promise step changes across society, including in artificial intelligence, secure data and communications, vaccine and drug design, and energy use, logistics and manufacturing."

Quantum computing utilizes the quantum states of particles to perform operations, allowing for simultaneous processing and vastly superior computational speeds compared to classical computers. The ultimate goal is to

harness this technology for tasks that current supercomputers cannot handle, such as sophisticated drug development and enhanced weather modeling.

Research Report:Highly 28Si enriched silicon by localised focused ion beam implantation