Professor Stace stressed the strategic importance, stating, “A nation or organisation that has access to quantum technology will have a head start in important areas related to national security, computation, and communication.”
Queensland’s inaugural quantum technology startup, Analog Quantum Circuits (AQC), is on the cutting edge of developing minuscule superconducting hardware crucial for the advancement of quantum computing technology.
Founded by the University of Queensland’s Professor Tom Stace and Associate Professor Arkady Federov, AQC emerges after a decade of rigorous theoretical and experimental research focused on engineering quantum systems.
Professor Stace revealed that AQC is in the process of commercializing microwave circulators that are a staggering 1000 times smaller than their current counterparts. “Commercial circulators are the size of a matchbox and we have managed to shrink them to a few tens of micrometres, which is a fraction of the width of a human hair,” Professor Stace explained.
He further emphasized, “A quantum computer is measured by the number of elementary parts called qubits, and it is estimated that at least a million of these will be needed before they become useful for complex computations. We’re building miniature components that will scale with the quantum computer, so companies building the rest of the system are able to incorporate our technology.”
AQC stands as Australia’s premier superconducting quantum technology startup. Operating out of the Superconducting Quantum Devices Lab at UQ’s St Lucia campus, the five-member team builds on the pioneering work initiated within the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems (EQUS).
This groundbreaking work takes place within cryogenic dilution refrigerators, maintaining a chilling temperature of minus 273 degrees Celsius—100 times colder than outer space. Dr. Fedorov clarified, “Quantum hardware is exquisitely sensitive, and even the ambient electrical noise at room temperature is 10,000 times too loud, so the microwave circulator that we are building helps shield that noise.”
AQC’s innovation plays a pivotal role in establishing a communication channel between the external world and the quantum computer, necessitating the technology to withstand extreme temperature variations within the refrigerator.
The Queensland Government’s commitment of $76 million over the next four years through the Queensland Quantum and Advanced Technologies Strategy aligns with the Federal Government’s National Quantum Strategy.
Professor Stace stressed the strategic importance, stating, “A nation or organisation that has access to quantum technology will have a head start in important areas related to national security, computation, and communication.”
He further noted, “We are leading quantum hardware development for international markets by building on the basic research that was done in Queensland with the extremely talented people we have trained.”
AQC recently secured a substantial $3 million in venture capital investment from Uniseed, earmarked for further research and development. Uniseed Investment Manager Paul Butler expressed confidence in AQC’s contribution to Australia’s quantum strategy, marking a significant milestone in the advancement of quantum computing technology.