We are delighted to finally share Silicon Quantum Computing has today announced the world’s first integrated circuit manufactured at the atomic scale.

Delivery of this atomic-scale integrated circuit, which operates as an analogue quantum processor, has come less than a decade after the team’s 2012 declaration that it had fabricated the world’s first single atom transistor and has been achieved two years ahead of schedule.

The team at SQC has used this quantum processor to accurately model the quantum states of a small, organic polyacetylene molecule – definitively proving the validity of the company’s technology for modelling quantum systems.

“This is a major breakthrough,” says SQC founder and CEO, Michelle Simmons AO. “Today’s classical computers struggle to simulate even relatively small molecules due to the number of possible interactions between atoms. Development of SQC’s atomic-scale circuit technology will allow the company and its customers to construct quantum models for a range of new materials, whether they be pharmaceuticals, materials for batteries, or catalysts. It won’t be long before we can start to realise new materials that have never existed before.”

The result is also a huge validation of SQC’s atomic manufacturing capabilities. To build the processor, SQC had to integrate multiple atomic components within a single device, which it did from its world class facility in Sydney, Australia.

“The exquisite precision of the device validates SQC’s technical strategy to focus on quality as opposed to quantity. We have created a superbly precise manufacturing technology that is opening the door to a whole new world. It is a huge step towards building a commercial quantum computer,” said Simmons.

Read the full article in Nature:

Engineering topological states in atom-based semiconductor quantum dots