Diraq

Technology: Silicon Spin Qubits

Diraq builds quantum computers using electron spins in silicon as qubits. Key advantage: CMOS-compatible fabrication—leverage existing semiconductor manufacturing infrastructure.

How It Works

Quantum dots (tiny regions in silicon) trap single electrons. The electron’s spin (up/down) encodes the qubit. Control via:

• Electric fields (gate voltages)
• Microwave pulses (spin manipulation)

Similar to classical transistors, but operating in quantum regime.

Scalability Advantage

Unlike superconducting (requires exotic materials) or ion trap (requires vacuum chambers), silicon qubits can be manufactured in existing semiconductor fabs (Intel, TSMC, GlobalFoundries).

Potential: Leverage trillion-dollar semiconductor industry infrastructure for quantum scaling.

Challenge: Silicon qubits have historically had lower coherence and fidelity than superconducting/ion trap. Diraq claims recent breakthroughs overcome this.

UNSW Silicon Quantum Computing Heritage

Diraq spun out of UNSW’s Centre for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology (CQC²T)—world-leading silicon quantum research group (Prof. Andrea Morello, Prof. Andrew Dzurak).

Academic foundation: 20+ years of silicon quantum research, hundreds of papers, multiple world-record demonstrations.

Key breakthrough: Achieved 99%+ gate fidelity in silicon (2023)—comparable to superconducting qubits, previously thought impossible in silicon.

Global Foundries Partnership

Diraq partnered with GlobalFoundries (major semiconductor manufacturer) to develop silicon qubit fabrication processes.

Goal: Integrate quantum dot qubits into commercial fab lines. If successful, could manufacture quantum processors at scale (thousands of qubits per chip).

Timeline: Prototype chips by 2025, commercial systems late 2020s.

Competitive Position

vs. Superconducting (IBM, Google):
Diraq: Room-temperature control electronics, CMOS-compatible. Superconducting: Exotic materials, cryogenic control.

Bet: Silicon manufacturing scales better long-term. Superconducting has lead now but may hit fabrication limits at 10,000+ qubits.

vs. Intel (also doing silicon qubits):
Intel has fab infrastructure but smaller research team. Diraq has world-class academic research but smaller company. Potential partnership opportunity.

Australian Quantum Ecosystem

Diraq benefits from Australian government quantum investment:

• National Quantum Strategy funding
• CQC²T research grants
• Academic partnerships (UNSW, University of Melbourne)

Strategic position: Australian government prioritizes quantum sovereignty (domestic quantum capability). Diraq is key hardware partner.

Applications (Future)

Once scaled to 100+ qubits:

• Quantum chemistry (molecular simulation)
• Optimization (QAOA for logistics)
• Cryptography (Shor’s algorithm when fault-tolerant)

Target timeline:

• 2025: 10-qubit silicon processor
• 2027: 100-qubit system
• 2030: Fault-tolerant quantum computer

Long-Term Vision

Diraq’s bet: Silicon will win quantum computing because it leverages existing semiconductor manufacturing.

Analogy: Like how silicon won classical computing (replacing vacuum tubes, transistors made in fabs enabled Moore’s Law). Diraq wants silicon to win quantum computing for same reasons.

Risk: Silicon qubits may never match coherence/fidelity of superconducting or ion trap. If breakthrough doesn’t materialize, Diraq falls behind.

Why Diraq Matters

If silicon quantum computing works, it changes the economics of quantum scaling. Instead of building custom quantum fab lines (IBM, Google), leverage existing $500B+ semiconductor industry.

Success scenario: By 2030, quantum processors manufactured alongside CPUs/GPUs in TSMC/GlobalFoundries fabs. Diraq becomes the “ARM of quantum computing” (designs, fabs manufacture).

Failure scenario: Silicon qubits remain inferior to other modalities. Diraq becomes footnote in quantum history.

High risk, high reward.