First full logical operations achieved on silicon quantum chip

Chinese researchers at the Shenzhen International Quantum Academy have developed a silicon-based quantum processor capable of performing a full set of error-detecting logical operations, marking a significant advance toward practical, fault-tolerant quantum computing. Unlike previous demonstrations on platforms such as superconducting circuits, this is the first time such error-detection capabilities have been achieved on silicon, a material integral to modern electronics. The team precisely placed phosphorus atoms into silicon to create and control individual qubits, encoding two logical qubits from four physical qubits that can detect and flag errors caused by noise during computation. The researchers demonstrated a complete operational sequence including preparing error-checked states, executing logical operations, and applying these in a quantum algorithm. Using the Variational Quantum Eigensolver, they simulated the lowest-energy state of a water molecule, obtaining results closely matching theoretical predictions. This validates the system’s ability to perform practical quantum tasks with built-in error detection. The work highlights silicon’s potential for scalable quantum computing due to its compatibility with