Theory-led Design of 2D Spin Qubits

Quantum computing holds the tantalizing potential to solve now-impossible problems in cancer genomics and drug design, climate forecasting, traffic management, finance and cryptography. The technology of quantum computers is based on quantum bits - qubits - as opposed to classical bits. Qubits perform by the principles of quantum mechanics, a radical concept that moves classically intractable problems into the realm of possibility.

The transformative applications of quantum computers will require millions of qubits - five orders of magnitude higher than the small-scale prototypes available today. This project aims to design atomic-scale qubits in two-dimensional (2D) materials with improved prospects for scale-up, tunability, and room-temperature performance. Realising the advantages of 2D qubit systems will be a considerable advance towards practical quantum computers.

This project will employ state-of-the-art computational techniques to screen defects in 2D materials as candidate spin-qubits. This work will be the first time the full parameter space of 2D materials is explored in the development of qubits. Also for the first-time, lanthanide dopants will be incorporated in 2D materials in analogy to the highly-successful but chemically limited lanthanide-based qubits in 3D materials. Trends in the chemical and structural degrees of freedom will be identified, allowing design rules to be established for tailoring the qubit properties. Together, this knowledge will be applied to design novel spin qubits with improved coherence properties, enabling more complex computations and greater numbers of qubits to be entangled.

This ambitious programme of research targets the key technological challenge of scalable qubit platforms by working towards 2D spin qubits which bypass several of the scaling bottlenecks currently limiting their 3D counterparts. This project's theory-led approach is crucial to fast-track experimental efforts in developing these highly promising systems.

The outcomes of this project will be used by national and international experimental collaborators to deliver application-tailored spin-defects in a 2D scaffold for quantum computing, quantum sensing and quantum networks and communications. Furthermore, the trends identified will provide general strategies to improve the scalability and reliability of practical spin qubits. A database of 2D spin-defects and their calculated properties will be released in an open-source database to aid other research groups in design and characterisation. Promising systems will be further developed with input from an advisory panel from academia and industry to supply the need for novel spin-defects in commercial devices. These results will offer a practical step towards the roll-out of quantum computers large enough to handle challenges within healthcare, chemistry, finance, meteorology and limitless other societally-relevant tasks.