Sydney experts have combined forces to demonstrate an innovative way to control quantum computers at cryogenic temperatures.

SYDNEY, Australia (26 June 2025) — Diraq and Emergence Quantum today announce technology that effectively reduces the size of the circuits required to run a silicon-based quantum computer, paving the way for more quantum information to be packed into a smaller footprint. 

The milestone, published in Nature, is a crucial step towards integrating Diraq’s silicon ‘quantum dot’ technology with the mature processes of the semiconductor industry to achieve utility-scale quantum computers that can tackle problems with true societal and commercial value. 

Quantum bits (or ‘qubits’) must be held at cryogenic temperatures, very close to absolute zero (–273.15 °C), to preserve their information. But they also need to be controlled and measured by complex electronics built from the complementary metaloxide semiconductor (CMOS) circuits found in laptops and smart phones. 

Unlike qubits, these circuits are usually designed to work at room temperature, not at cryogenic temperatures. And if they are placed close to the qubits, they can heat them, degrading their performance. The control system can be separated from the qubits by long cables, but the millions of qubits required for practical quantum computing render this solution impossible. 

Emergence Quantum has solved this challenge by designing ‘cryo-CMOS’ technology that functions at millikelvin temperatures, and together, Diraq and Emergence have now shown that this cryo-CMOS control circuitry does not compromise the performance of Diraq’s qubits. 

Diraq’s founder and CEO, Professor Andrew Dzurak, said, “This advance offers Diraq a means of precise control without degrading qubit quality. It’s a key piece of the quantum-computing puzzle, and one that will accelerate our progress towards a machine that can solve the kinds of problems that are unthinkable with today’s computers.”

The research began as an academic endeavour between the University of Sydney and UNSW Sydney, in collaboration with Diraq. Publication of the paper in Nature comes shortly after the formation of Emergence Quantum, a new venture founded by Professor David Reilly and Dr Thomas Ohki at the University of Sydney, formerly part of Microsoft. The partnership between Diraq and Emergence Quantum has been cemented by Diraq’s recruitment of Dr Samuel Bartee, Reilly’s former student. 

Bartee said, “It’s extremely exciting to be part of this work, to be involved in the development of such powerful technologies, and to sit in this hotspot of quantum computing research — Sydney really is a remarkable place for a quantum engineer to be at the moment.” 

Diraq’s qubit technology is the ideal testbed for Emergence Quantum’s cryo-CMOS system. Last year, Diraq published a paper in Nature showing that its qubits can operate with high fidelity at 1 degree above absolute zero. This deviation from zero might seem small, but it has a remarkable impact on the possibilities for control, because it relaxes the tight heating constraints imposed on other qubit materials. 

With these ‘hot qubits’ in hand, and Emergence Quantum’s cryo-CMOS control solution to minimize additional heating, Diraq is positioning itself to scale up to the millions of qubits required for practical quantum computing.

Reilly said, “Our team has long realized the need to more tightly integrate qubits with control systems, and now with Emergence Quantum, we are positioned to deliver real hardware solutions to researchers and companies across the quantum landscape. We want to catalyze the scaling of quantum technologies.” 

The fact that Diraq’s technology is inherently compatible with the CMOS industry makes it easier to integrate innovations like Emergence Quantum’s circuitry. It also minimizes the investment required to realize quantum computing’s extraordinary potential by leveraging the decades of research and trillions of dollars already spent on CMOS R&D. 

The ultimate goal is a computer like no other — one capable of accelerating progress in crucial areas such as drug discovery to enhance global health, and the design of innovative materials that can combat climate change

Watch the explainer video here.

About Diraq 

Diraq is a global leader in building quantum processors using silicon ‘quantum dot’ technology, leveraging proprietary technology developed over 20 years of research. Diraq is a private company, founded in 2022 and headquartered in Sydney, Australia, with operations in Palo Alto, California, and Boston, Massachusetts. Our approach relies on the existing silicon manufacturing processes, known as CMOS, used by foundries to produce today’s semiconductor components. By capitalizing on existing high-volume chip fabrication technology and semiconductor manufacturing capabilities, Diraq is accelerating the change that can transform computing as we know it. Diraq’s platform architecture is purpose-built to drive the significant processing advances required to reduce cost and energy barriers, and to realize quantum computing’s full societal and economic potential, forging a faster and cheaper road to market. Diraq’s goal is to revolutionize quantum computing by driving qubit numbers on a single chip to the many millions, and ultimately billions needed for useful commercial applications.

About Emergence 

Quantum Emergence Quantum is a team of globally recognised Ph.D-level scientists and engineers delivering integrated hardware platforms and the foundational technology underpinning quantum, future energy-efficient computing, and advanced sensing interfaces. Led by David Reilly and Thomas Ohki, Emergence Quantum focuses on unanticipated challenges that only emerge as systems scale, with a focus on integration and co-designed solutions. Expertise spans the fundamental physics of semiconductor and superconducting devices to the engineering challenges of complex, scaled-up computing and sensing platforms. A central theme of Emergence Quantum’s work is the use of integrated cryogenic electronics to address critical challenges in scaling quantum computers, or, in enabling new computational or sensing modalities. With backgrounds spanning big tech, government, SMEs and academia, the team partners with leading institutions to undertake research in applied physics and develop new technologies needed for future computing platforms.