The new approach involves positioning 'impurity' atoms, specifically arsenic, in silicon crystals, which allows for low error rates and aligns with existing silicon microelectronics technologies.

Currently, researchers manually insert arsenic atoms into a silicon crystal to create a 2×2 array, but this method requires manual positioning of each atom, which is slow and necessitates automation for scalability.

Overall, the study represents a significant step towards the feasibility of building a universal quantum computer, with future developments poised to integrate seamlessly with current semiconductor processes.

This study outlines the first reliable technique for arranging individual atoms in a grid, a breakthrough that took 25 years to achieve and is critical for building practical quantum computers.

UCL's team believes that the silicon semiconductor industry, valued at approximately $550 billion, can significantly contribute to advancing quantum computing, as arsenic and silicon are already integral to semiconductor manufacturing.

Researchers at University College London (UCL) have developed a groundbreaking method for fabricating quantum computers, achieving an almost zero failure rate and demonstrating strong scalability potential.

Quantum computers can theoretically solve complex problems faster than traditional computers by using single atoms as quantum bits (qubits), which exploit quantum mechanics phenomena such as superposition and entanglement.

Professor Neil Curson emphasized the milestone achieved in placing atoms with near-perfect precision and highlighted the need to overcome engineering challenges to automate the process for creating larger quantum systems.

Previous methods using phosphorus atoms had a success rate of only 70% in positioning, but the UCL study hypothesized that using arsenic could achieve higher reliability, with initial results showing a remarkable 97% accuracy.