Quantum computing: Silicon chips for quantum computing (Nature)
30 July 2026
Silicon-based quantum computing chips capable of carrying out basic operations that are critical to enable quantum-based computation are reported by two separate groups publishing in Nature this week.
To carry out computations in commercial settings, quantum processing chips will require a large number of quantum bits (qubits, a unit of information), which need to be manufactured and integrated at scale. Silicon exchange-only qubits have been suggested as a candidate for this process, with current iterations being connected to the surrounding electronics through extensive wiring. However, the heat associated with this process can corrupt the information stored in the qubits.
Members of the HRL Quantum Team and Collaborators address this issue using a silicon quantum processor with the control system integrated into the same platform. The electronic control system is kept at cryogenic temperatures, similar to the conditions that the quantum computer itself is kept in. This approach reduces the amount of heat in the control electronics that can be transferred to the sensitive qubits, enabling repeated error correction during computation. The team observed quantum error correction protocols on up to 7 qubits using a processor that can hold up to 18 qubits.
In a separate paper, Brennan Undseth and colleagues looked to enable long-range interactions using a mobile qubit. This device sends one mobile qubit back and forth to four stationary qubits (which the authors refer to as ‘bus stops’). The chip was able to perform ‘multi-qubit parity measurements’, a process required for quantum error correction, demonstrating its potential as an avenue for improving long-range connection within quantum chips.
In an accompanying News & Views article, Natalia Ares notes that it still remains to be seen whether silicon-based quantum processors will mirror the rise of conventional semiconductor chips. But they add: “These studies highlight that the challenge of building practical quantum computers is one of engineering as well as physics, and offer a prescient glimpse of how quickly this goal is approaching practicality.”
- Article
- Open access
- Published: 29 July 2026
Members of the HRL Quantum Team and Collaborators. A digitally controlled silicon quantum processing unit. Nature 655, 1154–1159 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10754-7
- Article
- Open access
- Published: 29 July 2026
Undseth, B., Meggiato, N., Wu, YH. et al. Weight-four parity checks in a spin-shuttling architecture. Nature 655, 1160–1166 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10766-3
News & Views: How silicon-chip technology is being re-engineered for quantum computing
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-02124-0
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