University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers plan to use silicon germanium quantum dots to create a quantum computer.

Under a U.S. Army Research Office $1.2 million grant, the team will combine advanced physics theory, silicon-germanium heterostructured materials, and low-temperature and high frequency measurements to build a semiconductor-based quantum gate or qubit.

Researchers predict the process could be scaled to make and link thousands of qubits, resulting in the first useful quantum computer in 10 to 30 years.