https://english.news.cn/20260615/1c859c2798b943b1bf1bedf28455f135/c.html

China achieves breakthrough in key material for silicon-based quantum chips

A team from the Research Institute of Physical and Chemical Engineering of Nuclear Industry (RIPCENI), affiliated with the China Nuclear Energy Industry Corp. under CNNC, has for the first time achieved independent mass production of silicon-28 isotope with an abundance exceeding 99.99 percent.

This advancement will facilitate the development of core materials for silicon-based quantum computing in China, as well as bolster the development of advanced semiconductor manufacturing processes, high-end navigation, and measurement benchmarks, according to experts.

Silicon-28, a stable isotope of silicon, can significantly reduce environmental noise interference in quantum computing. It is an indispensable core material for silicon-based quantum chips. According to Yu Dapeng, CAS academician, it paves the way for China to achieve scalable bit control in silicon-based quantum computing.

RIPCENI researchers now intend to focus on developing a series of stable isotope products to meet major demands in fields such as nuclear energy and nuclear medicine, aerospace, quantum information, particle physics, and deep space exploration.

Experts noted that stable isotopes hold irreplaceable value in areas that include nuclear medical imaging, precision radiotherapy, environmental tracing, and fundamental physics research. In advancing the engineering and industrialization of stable isotope technologies, RIPCENI research and development has so far led to the production of 26 types of stable isotopes across 12 elements, including molybdenum, tellurium, nickel, zinc, silicon, and ytterbium.