Ann: Quantum computing webinar, page-2

Here's my ‘interpreted’ key takeaway messages from their youtube video (note: not all their words or language):

Archer’s ‘world-first’ ¹²CQ chip is a synthetic material (not graphite). It is made from hydrocarbons as a starting material. It is exclusively built by Archer’s own in-house team in their state-of-art laboratory (no need to take the additional step to manufacture it outside).

Archer’s ¹²CQ chip is stable and robust enough to process information at room temperature. Unlike other hardware developers which need elaborate cooling methods to work. By comparison these are fundamentally flawed for large-scale commercialisation because they use a lot of space and energy. So that potentially makes them impractical and expensive for mass produced applications.

You say it: 1, 2, C, Q. You don’t say twelve CQ (apparently you’re allowed to have 'fun' when you name things!)

The global computer industry is not consolidated. It continues to rely on small players to drive new hardware developments for growth and advancements. Therefore, it encourages small players to licence their hardware technology for wide-scale adoption, if they see value in it.

Due to the complexity of the processes involved, hardware development as opposed to software development is achieved by very few players. The ‘licensing model’ of hardware technologies is very common in the computer industry. So small players (remain invisible) but often sell their IP licences to the household name manufacturer’s who then commercialise it at scale.

Despite recent media article claims, no one can claim ‘quantum supremacy’. These articles were limited to very specific tasks and algorithms which has no practical use in the real world. So headwinds remain. They are several years away.

Applications for the ¹²CQ are essentially any device requiring the practicality of ambient room temperature, like mobile devices, laptops etc. Also, ‘random encrypting’ of data offers greater security than classical systems. These items, for instance your credit card, wouldn’t require a lot of ¹²CQ chips.

The disadvantage of Archer’s ¹²CQ compared to others is the spin lifetime is shorter as opposed to the ‘cooled’ versions. That is, the oscillations (time of spin) must be long enough for the quantum processing or computation to occur. However, Archer’s technology is a trade-off as it works at room temperature. Yet it is well within the window necessary for the processing to occur. So this perceived issue is of little consequence.

It is universally agreed that scalability is key to commercialisation. So the aim is to build 100,000s of ¹²CQ chips or more that can be ‘fitted’ in a controlled manner to the components of existing and future devices.

In addition to Archer’s exclusive rights to the international patent application, it also has trade secrets and methods that is not included. As the complexity of the technology goes beyond the blueprint of chemistry and physics. This strengthens their competitive advantage.

Archer is a leader in this field. Nevertheless, research will continue over the next 12 months with its access to state-of-the-art facilities in Sydney and with key partners at EPFL, Switzerland.