Quantum-enabled Computing is set to revolutionise a myriad of technologies including medical research and drug discovery, security, cryptography, finance and environmental research. However the building blocks of Quantum Computers (Qubits) are proving slow, expensive and complex to manufacture, **Ionoptika's** Q-One instrument is designed to enable users to implant a single ion in a substrate such as diamond, and uniquely identify that the ion has successfully implanted. Work is underway already at a small number of European research laboratories on the Q-One, including the **University of Surrey** who collaborate closely with Ionoptika. One limiting factor however, is that the very nature of ion implantation requires that the ion beam must be placed very precisely and close to the substrate to be implanted. This means that only one ion beam system can be used; it is simply impossible to achieve precise and accurate implantation of 2 or more ion beams need to be positioned equidistant from the surface. However the choice of one ion beam brings about compromises; each ion beam system works in a very specific way with particular species. For example, the most commonly used ion beam system on a Q-One is a Liquid Metal Ion Gun(LMIG) which enables implantation of metal species such as Gold, Erbium or Manganese. It will not however enable implantation of gaseous species such as nitrogen or xenon. Whilst this compromise can be overcome with additional funding (i.e. the purchase of 2 instruments), at a price point of £1\. 3 million per instrument, this is not a viable solution for most research institutes. The goal of the UK team in this project is to to develop, test and characterize a novel dual-source system ( **Metal** **and Gas Ion Column - MaGIC)** intended for use with Ionoptika's Q-One Ion Implanter. MaGIC would offer the ultimate technological upgrade of the Q-One platform. By enabling the seamless utilisation of liquid metal and plasma ion sources the Q-One will become the first commercially available single ion implanter system which will cover the entirely spectrum of current technological applications of ion implantation both at academic and industrial research level. Complementary work carried out by our German collaborators in material development , post-implant treatment; and qubit characterization will provide a unique proof of principle, firmly establishing single ion implantation as the method of choice for fast Qubit production and the Q-One as the instrument of choice for this internationally significant technique.

Beams of ionised atoms find widespread use in many fields from production applications in semiconductors, to medical instrumentation and cancer diagnosis. A new application of ion beams is the manufacture of Quantum Technology (QT) devices, allowing the future creation of immensely powerful Quantum Computers with applications including medical research and drug discovery. A QT that is already on the market is the Quantum Cryptography system for sending unbreakable codes, which relies on single photon transmission. At present the "qubits" that make up existing quantum computers, and the light emitters producing the single photons, are made only in research labs. If the wider potential of QT is ever to be realised and reach the tipping point of widespread rather than niche commercialisation, the industry needs a manufacturing solution that is reliable and fast with high accurate ion placement. This is vital to be able to generate arrays of qubits for quantum computing. Ion beam implantation could be that solution. However, there is a major challenge to ensure ions are placed with great accuracy and to ensure that there is precisely one atom in each quantum "qubit" or each single photon source emitter. For example, a cryptography system containing a light emitter with two emitter atoms inside would be useless, because then two photons will be generated in each pulse, giving the chance to capture one and eavesdrop the conversation. Ionoptika's new Q-One single ion implantation system is aimed squarely at the emerging area of single atom QT device production. The remaining limiting factors are ensuring accurate ion placement (for array generation) and the availability of desirable ion sources from across the periodic table of the elements. Currently, a few sources are readily available, such as gallium and bismuth, but all are poor light emitters. Creating new sources is extremely difficult, requiring advanced expertise in metallurgy and ion beam physics, limiting commercial availability. Having this expertise is, currently, a pre-requisite to owning an ion implantation device, significantly limiting Q-One's market penetration. Ionoptika and the University of Surrey will test the feasibility of a new quality control process for confirming accurate ion placement and investigate two new sources more relevant to the quantum industry. Ionoptika will then be able to develop an improved Q-One machine suitable for research and manufacture of quantum technologies, the first such device in the market.