World-first pinpointing of atoms at work for quantum computers

Scientists can now identify the exact location of a single atom in a silicon crystal, a discovery that is key for greater accuracy in tomorrow's silicon based quantum computers.

It's now possible to track and see individual phosphorus atoms in a silicon crystal allowing confirmation of quantum computing capability, but which also has use in nano detection devices.

Quantum computing has the potential for enormous processing power in the future. Current laptops have transistors that use a binary code, an on-or-off state (bits). But tomorrow's quantum computers will use quantum bits 'qubits', which have multiple states.

Professor Lloyd Hollenberg at the University of Melbourne and Deputy Director of the Centre for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology led an international investigation on the fundamental building blocks of silicon based solid-state quantum processors.