China achieves breakthrough in key material for silicon-based quantum chips

China has achieved a breakthrough in the development of a critical material used in silicon-based quantum chips that will bolster frontier science and technology, the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) announced on Monday.

A team from the Research Institute of Physical and Chemical Engineering of Nuclear Industry (RIPCENI), affiliated with the China Nuclear Energy Industry Corp. under CNNC, has for the first time achieved independent mass production of silicon-28 isotope with an abundance exceeding 99.99%.

The advancement will facilitate the independent development of core materials for silicon-based quantum computing in China, as well as bolster the development of advanced semiconductor manufacturing processes, high-end navigation and measurement benchmarks, according to experts.

Silicon-28, a stable isotope of silicon, can significantly reduce environmental noise interference in quantum computing. Hailed as the "purest silicon," it is an indispensable core material for silicon-based quantum chips.

It paves the way for China to achieve scalable bit control in silicon-based quantum computing, said Yu Dapeng, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The journey from initial research to mass production of high-purity silicon-28 isotope has taken years of dedicated efforts by the research team and marks a milestone achievement, said Lei Zengguang, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

RIPCENI researchers now intend to focus on developing a series of stable isotope products to meet major demands in fields such as nuclear energy and nuclear medicine, aerospace, quantum information, particle physics and deep space exploration.

Experts noted that stable isotopes hold irreplaceable value in areas that include nuclear medical imaging, precision radiotherapy, environmental tracing and fundamental physics research.

In advancing the engineering and industrialization of stable isotope technologies, RIPCENI research and development has so far led to the production of 26 types of stable isotopes across 12 elements, including molybdenum, tellurium, nickel, zinc, silicon and ytterbium.