Communications of the ACM
Scientists Emulate Nature in Quantum Leap Towards Future Computers
An artist's impression of inside the quantum integrated circuit modeling the carbon chain. The simulated carbon atoms are in red, while the blue represents electrons exchanged between them.
Credit: SQC
Scientists at Australia's University of New South Wales, Sydney (UNSW) have constructed an atomic-scale silicon quantum processor to model the behavior of an organic molecule.
UNSW's Michelle Simmons said the researchers assembled a quantum integrated circuit using a chain of 10 quantum dots to simulate the location of atoms in a chain of polyacetylene.
Simmons said they addressed theoretical physicist Richard Feynman's challenge to emulate nature by building matter at the same length scale in "mimicking the polyacetylene molecule by putting atoms in silicon with the exact distances that represent the single and double carbon-carbon bonds."
The team modeled two distinct strands of the polymer chains and measured electric current passing through them, which matched theoretical predictions.
From UNSW Sydney Newsroom (Australia)
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