Research reveals new spin control method that could enable billion-qubit quantum chips

Researchers at Australia’s University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney) have discovered a new way of controlling single electrons in quantum dots (tiny nanodevices in qubits which can trap one or a few electrons). The new method could enable large-scale silicon quantum computers in the future.

Practically, the researchers have come up with a new way of manipulating the quantum state of a single qubit by using electric fields, rather than the magnetic fields that had been used before. Controlling single electrons without disturbing others is key for quantum information processing in silicon, and the engineers have discovered a new method for doing so called ‘intrinsic spin-orbit  electric dipole spin resonance’. This solution was presented as being less bulky and requiring fewer parts, thus offering advantages that could contribute to making large-scale silicon quantum computers a reality.