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Archer Materials shows quantum device compatibility with semiconductor industry fabrication

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By Imelda Cotton - 
Archer Materials ASX AXE quantum device compatibility semiconductor industry fabrication 12CQ quantum

Archer Materials closed-out the June quarter with $26.4 million in the bank and zero debt to fund its ongoing technological developments.

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The granting of an Australian patent to Archer Materials (ASX: AXE) during the June quarter will provide the company with exclusive and legally-enforceable commercial rights to its 12CQ quantum chip invention in Australia.

Securing the patent follows Archer having patents granted in the US, China, Japan, South Korea and Europe.

Patent approval is essential to the technology as it effectively protects the chip from being copied by other parties and is required for any future commercialisation operations.

The company has $26.4 million in the bank as of the end of the June quarter, and zero debt, to fund ongoing technological developments.

Quantum chip innovation

Archer’s 12CQ chip aims to integrate its unique qubit material with mobile-compatible devices in a form suitable for industrial-scale semiconductor nanofabrication.

Integrating qubit materials with complex control and readout electronics compatible with existing industrial-scale foundries is a significant challenge in developing quantum processors.

Current quantum computing qubit architectures rely on custom made fabrication, unlike modern classical computing circuits which are primarily silicon-based and are manufactured in, and using, well-established industrial semiconductor facilities.

To scale the fabrication of Archer’s 12CQ chip devices and components, the company will need to work with industrial-scale manufacturers in the global semiconductor supply chain.

Archer says it uses sophisticated device modelling and simulations to determine which commercial foundries could address the company’s future fabrication.

In June, Archer moved a step closer to the readout of quantum states by fabricating nanodevices which will allow for the probing of quantum behaviour in the 12CQ qubit material.

The company also announced progress with its biochip through the fabrication of 15 nanometre (nm) size features, representing the minimum threshold of what is required for the development of biosensor technology and moving it closer to miniaturisation below 10nm.

Nanofabrication was performed using state-of-the-art lithography and specialised software.

The work was considered to be a significant technical achievement as the fabrication processes are complex and require precision engineering to reach the lateral controls needed for such small-sized features.

Archer has recently confirmed it had performed state-of-the-art 3D electrostatic finite element modelling in conjunction with inhouse software development relevant to its qubit material.

The modelling simulates quantum electronic device (QED) architectures related to qubit control and readout to obtain a precise estimate for the lower-bound on the devices’ critical feature size.

Advanced semiconductor device modelling supports the compatibility of Archer’s 12CQ quantum devices with existing industrial foundry processes.

Archer chief executive officer Dr Mohammad Choucair said “the results of the advanced simulations provides Archer with an initial avenue to designing qubit devices in a form suitable for scalable processing, and importantly, using existing chip production equipment found in many industrial semiconductor manufacturing foundries.”

The company intends to use this modelling to determine which commercial semiconductor manufacturers to engage with regarding future fabrication.