Silicon Quantum Computing

Last updated
Silicon Quantum Computing
Company type Private
Industry Quantum Computing
Founded2017
Headquarters Sydney, Australia
Key people
Website sqc.com.au

Silicon Quantum Computing Pty Ltd (SQC) is a Sydney, Australia-based quantum computing company.

Contents

The company develops quantum computers and analogue quantum devices using phosphorus atoms manufactured within silicon [1] using scanning tunnelling microscopes, an approach within the field of spin qubits.

Distinct from other companies within the spin qubits modality, SQC uses the nuclear spin of phosphorus atoms placed [2] within isotopically pure Si-28 wafers for quantum computation. Atoms used as qubits have demonstrated favourable performance indicators such as long coherence times [3] and biased noise. [4]

History

SQC was founded by Michelle Simmons in 2017. [5] She is recognised for her foundational contributions [6] to the field of atomic electronics. The company is chaired by Simon Segars [7] the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ARM Holdings PLC.

At incorporation, the company raised A$83 million from the Australian Federal Government, the New South Wales Government, the University of New South Wales, Telstra and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. [8]

Manufacturing and technology

SQC uses phosphorus atoms precision-placed within pure silicon (Si-28) [9] [1] to create qubits. The company manufactures their own quantum computing chips (QPUs) with sub-nanometre (atom level) precision at their Sydney headquarters. [10]

Simmons' research group, prior to the incorporation of SQC, created the first single atom transistor in 2012. [11] SQC created the 3D atom transistor in 2019 [12] and an integrated circuit made with atomic precision in 2022. [13]

Grover's algorithm is one of the two foundational quantum algorithms (alongside Shor's algorithm). Grover's algorithm runs quadratically faster than the best possible classical algorithm for the same task, a linear search, and so has significant commercial relevance for optimisation problems. In 2025, SQC announced results of running Grover's on one of their quantum computing systems and achieving 98.87% [14] of the theoretical maximum. This result was achieved without error correction. [15]

Products

SQC manufactures three products. Two application-specific processors within the family of quantum analogue processors [16] and one series of quantum computers.

In August 2025, Australian Defence announced the purchase of a QML processor [17] to be housed on-premises within their data environment.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Schofield, S. R.; Curson, N. J.; Simmons, M. Y.; Rueß, F. J.; Hallam, T.; Oberbeck, L.; Clark, R. G. (2003-09-25). "Atomically Precise Placement of Single Dopants in Si". Physical Review Letters. 91 (13) 136104. arXiv: cond-mat/0307599 . Bibcode:2003PhRvL..91m6104S. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.91.136104. PMID   14525322.
  2. ↑ Kranz, Ludwik; Gorman, Samuel Keith; Thorgrimsson, Brandur; He, Yu; Keith, Daniel; Keizer, Joris Gerhard; Simmons, Michelle Yvonne (2020). "Exploiting a Single-Crystal Environment to Minimize the Charge Noise on Qubits in Silicon". Advanced Materials. 32 (40) 2003361. doi: 10.1002/adma.202003361 . ISSN   1521-4095.
  3. ↑ Reiner, J.; Chung, Y.; Misha, S. H.; Lehner, C.; Moehle, C.; Poulos, D.; Monir, S.; Charde, K. J.; Macha, P.; Kranz, L.; Thorvaldson, I.; Thorgrimsson, B.; Keith, D.; Hsueh, Y. L.; Rahman, R. (2024). "High-fidelity initialization and control of electron and nuclear spins in a four-qubit register". Nature Nanotechnology. 19 (5): 605–611. doi:10.1038/s41565-023-01596-9. ISSN   1748-3395. PMC   11106007 .
  4. ↑ Kranz, Ludwik; Gorman, Samuel Keith; Thorgrimsson, Brandur; He, Yu; Keith, Daniel; Keizer, Joris Gerhard; Simmons, Michelle Yvonne (2020). "Exploiting a Single-Crystal Environment to Minimize the Charge Noise on Qubits in Silicon". Advanced Materials. 32 (40) 2003361. doi: 10.1002/adma.202003361 . ISSN   1521-4095.
  5. ↑ "Australia gets quantum computing company". Information Age. Retrieved 2025-06-09.
  6. ↑ Dargan, James (2023-10-19). "Michelle Simmons, 2018 Australian of the Year, Wins PM's Top Science Prize for Pioneering Quantum Computing in Atomic Electronics". The Quantum Insider. Retrieved 2025-06-09.
  7. ↑ "Fellow Detail Page | Royal Society". royalsociety.org. Retrieved 2025-06-09.
  8. ↑ "UNSW joins with government and business to keep quantum computing technology in Australia". Australian Financial Review. 2017-08-22. Retrieved 2025-06-09.
  9. ↑ "Silex and Silicon Quantum Computing Launch Silicon Enrichment Project for Quantum Computing". HPCwire. Retrieved 2025-06-09.
  10. ↑ "Scientists emulate nature in quantum leap towards computers of the future". UNSW Sites. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
  11. ↑ Fuechsle, Martin; Miwa, Jill A.; Mahapatra, Suddhasatta; Ryu, Hoon; Lee, Sunhee; Warschkow, Oliver; Hollenberg, Lloyd C. L.; Klimeck, Gerhard; Simmons, Michelle Y. (2012-02-19). "A single-atom transistor" . Nature Nanotechnology. 7 (4): 242–246. Bibcode:2012NatNa...7..242F. doi:10.1038/nnano.2012.21. ISSN   1748-3395. PMID   22343383.
  12. ↑ Koch, Matthias; Keizer, Joris G.; Pakkiam, Prasanna; Keith, Daniel; House, Matthew G.; Peretz, Eldad; Simmons, Michelle Y. (2019-01-07). "Spin read-out in atomic qubits in an all-epitaxial three-dimensional transistor". Nature Nanotechnology. 14 (2): 137–140. Bibcode:2019NatNa..14..137K. doi:10.1038/s41565-018-0338-1. hdl: 1959.4/unsworks_63403 . ISSN   1748-3395. PMID   30617309.
  13. ↑ Kiczynski, M.; Gorman, S. K.; Geng, H.; Donnelly, M. B.; Chung, Y.; He, Y.; Keizer, J. G.; Simmons, M. Y. (2022-06-22). "Engineering topological states in atom-based semiconductor quantum dots". Nature. 606 (7915): 694–699. Bibcode:2022Natur.606..694K. doi:10.1038/s41586-022-04706-0. ISSN   1476-4687. PMC   9217742 . PMID   35732762.
  14. ↑ Thorvaldson, I.; Poulos, D.; Moehle, C. M.; Misha, S. H.; Edlbauer, H.; Reiner, J.; Geng, H.; Voisin, B.; Jones, M. T.; Donnelly, M. B.; Peña, L. F.; Hill, C. D.; Myers, C. R.; Keizer, J. G.; Chung, Y. (2025-02-20). "Grover's algorithm in a four-qubit silicon processor above the fault-tolerant threshold". Nature Nanotechnology. 20 (4): 472–477. doi:10.1038/s41565-024-01853-5. ISSN   1748-3395. PMC   12014505 .
  15. ↑ Abdel-Kareem, Mohamed (2025-02-22). "Silicon Quantum Computing Demonstrates 98.9% Accuracy in Grover's Algorithm Execution Using Qubits with Phosphorus Atoms Placed into Silicon". Quantum Computing Report. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
  16. ↑ Trivedi, Rahul; Franco Rubio, Adrian; Cirac, J. Ignacio (2024-08-02). "Quantum advantage and stability to errors in analogue quantum simulators". Nature Communications. 15 (1): 6507. doi:10.1038/s41467-024-50750-x. ISSN   2041-1723. PMC   11297267 .
  17. ↑ "Defence backs local next-generation innovation". Australian Government: Defence. 2025-08-25.
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