An important step has been taken by a team led by Professor Michelle Simmons, who is known to be 2018 Australian of the Year, towards the advancement of a silicon quantum computer. Researchers hailing from UNSW Sydney have successfully demonstrated the lowest ever noise level for a semiconductor qubit, or quantum bit.
For quantum computers to execute meaningful calculations, the quantum information needs to be completely accurate. The imperfections caused in the material environment, or the charge noise, which hosts the quantum bits, interfere with the encoded quantum information on the qubits, thereby affecting the information's accuracy.
The charge noise levels present in the semiconductor quantum bits has been an obstacle in achieving the required accuracy levels needed for large-scale-error-corrected quantum computers, as stated by the lead author of the study. The research study has revealed that charge noise can be reduced to a significantly lower level, thereby reducing its impact on qubits.
A noise level almost ten times lower can be attained by the optimization of the fabrication procedure of the silicon chip. This is known to be the lowest ever recorded charge noise.
Quantum bits hosted in silicon, or any other semiconductor platform, are susceptible to the charge noise. The research team concluded that the mere presence of defects either within the interface or the silicon chip significantly contributed to the charge noise.
By placing the atoms away from the interfaces and surface where most of the noise is originated and lowering the impurities present in the silicon chip, the research team successfully produced the record-breaking result. The results continued to represent silicon as an excellent material to host quantum bits. The research team is systematically proving atom quantum bits present in silicon to be fast, stable, and reproducible with its capability to engineer every facet of the qubit environment.
The research team has decided to go for isotopically pure crystalline Si-28 for its next challenge. The team also performed several experiments to categorize the charge noise using the fabricated silicon chip, only to get unanticipated results.
The technological innovations in the field of semiconductor are likely to create lot of opportunities for the key players operating quantum computing market globally.
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