Archer Materials shares rise after early-stage validation of qubit robustness

Archer is the only ASX listed company and one of the few players in the world developing qubit processor chip technology in the semiconductor industry.

Electron spin resonance setup to perform qubit control characterisation on bulk quantities of Archer's qubits at room temperature.

Archer Materials Ltd (ASX:AXE, OTC:ARRXF) shares rose as much as 12% higher intra-day after the company has for the first time validated that the qubit’s quantum coherence properties are preserved under an inert atmosphere.

This is a breakthrough towards developing Archer’s ¹²CQ chip, a world-first qubit processor technology, that could allow for quantum computing powered mobile devices.

Quantum coherence is the fundamental requirement for quantum logic operations that are the basis of any quantum computing qubit processor hardware.

For potential integration and use of qubit materials in practical chip devices, it is significant to demonstrate and validate qubit robustness at room temperature and under atmospheric environments other than that of air or vacuum.

Validates potential use in on-board mobile devices

The measurements to validate the qubit robustness were performed at room temperature using state-of-the-art electron spin resonance instruments in Sydney.

Bulk quantities of Archer’s qubit material were subjected to an inert atmosphere comprising nitrogen gas, a commonly used and abundant gas that makes up 78% of air, which was found to preserve the qubits’ quantum coherence properties.

Other inert atmospheres that may preserve the qubits’ quantum properties are now subject to ongoing, routine optimisations of the external qubit environment by the Archer team.

Archer also found that the quantum properties of the bulk qubit material could be recovered even after the qubit material experienced shelf-lives exceeding years, and when placed under extreme exposure to high temperatures for at least several weeks (i.e. the qubit material withstood exceptional degradation conditions that are possible in chip-based environments).

“Validates the robustness of the qubit”

Archer CEO Dr Mohammad Choucair said: “The step change optimisation that was achieved validates the robustness of the qubit for control measurements and operation that could be compatible with device miniaturisation and, in general, preserving qubit coherence when integrating with semiconductor devices.”