After years of development, today Silicon Quantum Computing (SQC) has finally released its novel product Quantum Twins to the world. Customers are already able to use it via direct contracts. This cutting-edge silicon quantum simulator features a staggering 15,000 quantum dots. It is focused specifically on the simulation of complex material transitions to enhance more realistic transitions between materials. The product’s capacity to precisely model a material’s transition from an insulating state to a metallic state, and all stages in between, is truly revolutionary.
This launch is the highest-profile milestone yet for the young company. Since being set up in 2017, it has concentrated on trying to develop practical quantum technologies. Founder and CEO Michelle Simmons heads SQC, bringing more than 25 years of academic experience in quantum technology. Under her leadership, SQC has positioned itself at the cutting edge of emerging developments in quantum computing.
Capabilities of Quantum Twins
The Quantum Twins device demonstrates its potential by simulating the metal-insulator transition of a two-dimensional material. This last model is especially important since most of these transitions cannot be effectively modeled on classical computers. Sam Gorman, a key member of the SQC team, emphasized the unique approach of the Quantum Twins:
“Instead of using qubits, as you would typically in a quantum computer, we just directly encode the problem into the geometry and structure of the array itself.”
This approach allows the team to tackle complex problems that were previously deemed challenging or impossible for traditional computing methods.
Clusters of ten to fifty phosphorus atoms are used to create a register which can be configured for application-specific chips. In a significant milestone, SQC was able to simulate a molecule of polyacetylene on 10 registers successfully in 2022. Unlike the Quantum Twins model, which fully harnesses an astounding 15,000 registers to exponentially boost its computational power and versatility.
Manufacturing Process and Technology
SQC’s groundbreaking technique includes a highly complex 38-stage process for atomically patterning phosphorus atoms into silicon. The sophistication of this entire process ensures that the devices produced are extremely high purity, clean, and consistent. Simmons highlighted the significance of their manufacturing environment:
“It’s done in ultra-high vacuum. So it’s a very pure, very clean system.”
Then in 2014, the team developed markers embedded in the chip itself. This technological advancement enabled them to precisely determine the placement of the atoms, helping to form efficient contacts. This breakthrough serves as their foundation to design tamper-proof quantum devices that can realistically simulate any two-dimensional problem.
Gorman noted that their innovative approach enables rapid development times for chip designs:
“We put 250,000 of these registers [on a chip] in eight hours, and we can turn a chip design around in a week.”
This nimbleness means SQC is better positioned to meet emerging challenges in the field of material science and further afield.
Future Applications and Impact
When looking toward the future, Simmons showed incredible enthusiasm at the prospects of industrial applications of Quantum Twins. She’s convinced that this technology is going to disrupt fields like drug discovery and materials engineering.
This potential to simulate nuanced material behaviors at an unprecedented rate places Quantum Twins far ahead of the competition. Gorman added,
“Now that we’ve demonstrated that the device is behaving as we predict, we’re looking at high-impact issues or outstanding problems.”
SQC is keenly interested in actively using its technology and expanding its applications. It is equally committed to address the greatest and most complex challenges facing the sciences today.
“That is the part which is challenging for classical computing. But we can actually put our system into this regime quite easily.”
As SQC continues to refine its technology and expand its applications, it seeks to address some of the most pressing challenges in modern science.