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A team of scientists has created an ‘artificial atom’ using graphene, opening up possibilities for quantum computing.

Since physicists Professors Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov first discovered graphene at the University of Manchester, UK, in 2001, the one-atom-thick sheet of graphite has caused excitement among scientists for its many applications in innovative technology.

Not only does graphene offer potential uses in the fields of electronics and computing, project researcher Dr Joachim Burgdörfer from the Vienna University of Technology, Austria, said that “artificial atoms open up new, exciting possibilities, because we can directly tune their properties”.

He added: “When such quantum dots are created on graphene, with its single layer of carbon atoms, it allows for more interesting possibilities.”

The method employed by the team uses an electric field to trap electrons and a magnetic field to force them into tiny circular orbits. This method overcomes the problem created by the lack of smooth edges on any piece of graphene.

Scientists included in the project come from RWTH Aachen University, Germany, and the University of Manchester.

The new artificial atoms could create possibilities for many quantum technological experiments, according to Burgdörfer: “Four localised electron states with the same energy allow for switching between different quantum states to store information.”

In addition, the new method has the advantage of scalability, it should be possible to fit many artificial atoms on a small chip in order to use them for quantum information applications.