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UNSW Entangles Distant Nuclear Spins in Silicon to Tackle Scaling Hurdle

The team used a geometric gate with electron exchange to couple phosphorus nuclei roughly 20 nanometres apart, aligning the approach with standard chip fabrication scales.

Overview

  • UNSW researchers report in Science that they created entanglement between two phosphorus nuclear spins separated by about 20 nanometres in ultra‑pure silicon.
  • The interaction was mediated by electrons using a geometric gate, removing the need for both nuclei to share the same electron.
  • The demonstration targets a long‑standing connectivity bottleneck for nuclear‑spin qubits, which previously offered long coherence times and low error rates but limited linking options.
  • The chip used implanted phosphorus from the University of Melbourne team and isotopically engineered silicon supplied by Keio University.
  • The group describes the method as compatible with existing semiconductor manufacturing, with scaling to larger arrays and longer links identified as the next engineering challenge.