CREATING A
ROOMTEMPERATURE QUBIT COMPONENT Lauren Davis
A
rcher CEO Dr Mohammad Choucair explained that the processing power of classic devices, such as laptops and phones, is starting to reach its limits. The secret to greater processing power lies in quantum computing, which has the potential to solve problems that classical computers find extremely difficult or impossible. But according to Dr Choucair, the biggest problem in quantum computing bottles down to the materials that are currently available — the majority of quantum computers are only able to operate at subzero temperatures, and while other devices use light or special materials which overcome the temperature challenge,
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these are difficult to integrate into modern electronics. “At the moment, all the materials that are out there, your quantum processor either works at a really low temperature, -273°C, or if it works at room temperature, it’s very difficult to integrate,” he said. “That means, generally speaking, all your quantum computers are housed in big ivory towers that you cannot access. And if you want access, you probably have to access it through the cloud. It’s not on board your device. Very limited in use, very early stages. There is no widespread ownership.” Things changed back in 2012 when Dr Choucair, then employed by the University
of Sydney, invented a conducting carbon material that was shown to have the potential to process quantum information at room temperature, thus overcoming both the limitations of subzero operating temperatures and electronic device integration for qubits. Since joining Archer as CEO around two years ago, he has helmed the company’s efforts to develop a core device (chip) made of this material, as part of the company’s 12 CQ project. The quantum chip forms the basis of IP that has been exclusively licensed from the University of Sydney. Construction commenced on the chip prototypes in June this year, with work taking place at the Research and Prototype
WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU
Image courtesy Archer Exploration Limited (ASX:AXE).
Materials technology company Archer Exploration has announced the latest milestone in its mission to create a qubit processor that can operate at room temperature — potentially a game changer for the emerging quantum computing industry.