UNSW Sydney nano-tech startup Diraq has achieved a groundbreaking milestone, demonstrating that its quantum chips are not mere laboratory prototypes but robust devices capable of withstanding real-world production processes while maintaining an exceptional 99% accuracy rate – a critical threshold for the practical implementation of quantum computers. This pivotal advancement signifies a monumental leap from theoretical potential to tangible reality for quantum computing technology.

Diraq, a trailblazer in the field of silicon-based quantum computing, collaborated with the esteemed European nanoelectronics institute, Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (imec), to achieve this remarkable feat. Their joint effort unequivocally proved that the quantum chips, when manufactured on a standard semiconductor chip fabrication line, exhibit the same level of reliability and performance as those meticulously crafted and tested under the controlled experimental conditions of a research laboratory at UNSW. This validation addresses a long-standing skepticism within the quantum computing community regarding the scalability and manufacturability of high-fidelity quantum processors.

Professor Andrew Dzurak of UNSW Engineering, who also serves as the founder and CEO of Diraq, articulated the significance of this breakthrough. He emphasized that prior to this achievement, the crucial question of whether the exceptional fidelity, or accuracy, of quantum processors demonstrated in laboratory settings could be successfully translated to a mass manufacturing environment remained unproven. "Now it’s clear that Diraq’s chips are fully compatible with manufacturing processes that have been around for decades," stated Professor Dzurak, underscoring the seamless integration of Diraq’s quantum technology with established industrial practices.

The findings, meticulously detailed in a paper published on September 24th in the prestigious journal Nature, reveal that the devices designed by Diraq and fabricated by imec achieved an impressive fidelity exceeding 99% in operations involving two quantum bits, or ‘qubits’. This level of accuracy is not merely an incremental improvement; it represents a fundamental step towards Diraq’s ambitious goal of developing utility-scale quantum processors. Utility scale is defined as the point at which a quantum computer’s commercial value surpasses its operational costs, a key metric established by the United States’ Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) through its Quantum Benchmarking Initiative. This initiative aims to assess the progress of Diraq and 17 other leading companies in reaching this crucial benchmark.

The promise of utility-scale quantum computers lies in their unparalleled ability to tackle complex problems that currently elude even the most advanced high-performance computing systems. However, realizing this potential necessitates the ability to store and manipulate an enormous number of qubits – in the millions – to effectively manage and mitigate the inherent errors associated with the fragile nature of quantum states. "Achieving utility scale in quantum computing hinges on finding a commercially viable way to produce high-fidelity quantum bits at scale," Professor Dzurak explained.

He further elaborated on the strategic advantage of Diraq’s collaboration with imec: "Diraq’s collaboration with imec makes it clear that silicon-based quantum computers can be built by leveraging the mature semiconductor industry, which opens a cost-effective pathway to chips containing millions of qubits while still maximizing fidelity." This approach leverages the decades of investment and innovation in the semiconductor industry, a multi-trillion-dollar global enterprise responsible for the microchips that power our modern world.

Silicon has emerged as a front-runner among the various materials being explored for quantum computing applications. Its remarkable properties allow for the integration of millions of qubits onto a single chip, and crucially, it operates seamlessly with the existing trillion-dollar microchip industry. This compatibility means that the advanced manufacturing techniques that have enabled the placement of billions of transistors onto modern computer chips can be directly applied to the production of quantum processors. This synergy offers a significant advantage in terms of cost-effectiveness and production volume compared to other qubit platforms.

Diraq had previously demonstrated the capability of qubits fabricated in an academic laboratory to achieve high fidelity in performing two-qubit logic gates, which are the fundamental building blocks of future quantum computers. However, the critical unanswered question was whether this high fidelity could be consistently reproduced when these qubits were manufactured in the more demanding environment of a semiconductor foundry.

"Our new findings demonstrate that Diraq’s silicon qubits can be fabricated using processes that are widely used in semiconductor foundries, meeting the threshold for fault tolerance in a way that is cost-effective and industry-compatible," Professor Dzurak affirmed. Fault tolerance is a crucial concept in quantum computing, referring to the ability of a quantum computer to perform computations accurately even in the presence of errors. Achieving fault tolerance is essential for building reliable and functional quantum computers.

Previously, Diraq and imec had established that qubits manufactured using Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) processes – the very same technology that underpins the production of everyday computer chips – could achieve an impressive 99.9% accuracy in single-qubit operations. However, the more complex two-qubit operations, which are indispensable for unlocking the true power of quantum computing and achieving utility scale, had not yet been demonstrated with comparable fidelity in a manufacturing setting.

The recent breakthrough reported in Nature bridges this gap. By successfully demonstrating high fidelity in two-qubit operations from industrially manufactured chips, Diraq has removed a significant barrier to the widespread adoption of quantum computing. "This latest achievement clears the way for the development of a fully fault-tolerant, functional quantum computer that is more cost effective than any other qubit platform," Professor Dzurak concluded, expressing optimism about the future trajectory of quantum technology. This development is poised to accelerate research and development, driving innovation across numerous scientific and industrial sectors. The implications for drug discovery, materials science, financial modeling, and artificial intelligence are profound, as quantum computers promise to unlock solutions to problems currently deemed intractable. The successful integration of quantum technology into established manufacturing processes marks a pivotal moment, signaling the dawning of a new era in computing.