As giant IT companies like Google and IBM are accelerating the development of quantum computers, Intel has achieved a major step forward in the race to develop quantum computers by successfully producing large-scale silicon qubits.

Intel announced on the 15th that it has successfully produced large-scale silicon qubits in collaboration with Qutech, an advanced quantum computing research institute. This research demonstrates that qubits can be produced alongside existing chips in existing semiconductor manufacturing facilities.

With yields exceeding 95%, arrays of more than 10,000 silicon spin qubits can be fabricated on a single wafer. This achievement demonstrates a high number of qubits and yield compared to the process used in academia and research institutes.

The results of this study were published in the international academic journal Nature Electronics, and through peer review, they demonstrated that qubits can be successfully fabricated on 300mm silicon.

The new process announced this time produces silicon spin qubits using the same equipment used to produce complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) chips, using advanced transistor fabrication techniques including all-optical lithography.

“Quantum computing has the potential to significantly improve performance for specific applications in high-performance computing,” said James Clarke, director of quantum hardware at Intel. “This research demonstrates that not only is full-scale quantum computing achievable, but that it can be produced on-site alongside current semiconductor manufacturing.”