Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Physics and Ludwig Maximilians University have found a way to closely control the quantum states of single atoms trapped in a microchip.

The method is a step toward building devices that depend on traits of single atoms, like miniature atomic clocks that are an order of magnitude more accurate than those that exist today, and quantum computers.

The researchers’ chip uses magnetic fields to hold neutral atoms 5 to 130 microns above the chip surface at room temperature. The chip preserve the atoms’ quantum states for more than a second, plenty long enough for most quantum information processing needs.