Science Highlights
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Telecom-wavelength entanglement with ytterbium
Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign create high-quality quantum entanglement between ytterbium atoms and photons at telecom wavelengths, eliminating the need for conversion. Read More
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Enhanced light-matter interactions
Resonant metasurfaces enhance llight-matter interactions, making them ideal for efficient on-chip quantum light generation and manipulation. Read More
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Modeling complex molecules
Researchers develop a quantum algorithm that makes it possible to model complex molecules accurately and efficiently on today’s small and error-prone quantum computers. Read More
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Enriching spin glasses
Scientists use ultracold gases of rubidium atoms trapped in optical tweezers and placed them in a cavity to visualize the ultrametric structure of a glassy system. Read More
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Simulating noisy quantum computers
Researchers show how to better simulate noisy quantum computers as they scale up, using new tensor network techniques that make large systems manageable. Read More
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GKP codes and quantum error correction
Researchers show that the performance of GKP codes — which are useful for quantum error correction — is closely tied to the geometry of their structure and the amount of energy put into them. Read More
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Metasurfaces for quantum communication and sensing
Scientists develop an ultrathin device — a metasurface — that controls light in ways that are important for quantum communication and sensing. The design works at telecom wavelengths, reaches speeds over 1 GHz, and can be manufactured using modern foundry-scale methods. Read More
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Improving the efficiency of quantum algorithms for complex molecules
Researchers develop an algorithm to help quantum computers simulate complex molecules, reducing the memory demands of a classical preselection algorithm and helping estimate the quantum resource requirements for simulating larger chemical systems. Read More
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Linear and nonlinear approaches for linking quantum information: an analysis
Scientists develop a new approach to better filter errors in a quantum network, one that improves accuracy without needing to discard results afterward. Read More
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Controlling the makeup of semiconductor materials for quantum technologies
Researchers highlight how controlling the isotopic makeup of semiconductor materials is becoming a key part of designing effective quantum technologies. Read More
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David Awschalom wins global Breakthrough of the Year award
David Awschalom, Q-NEXT Chief Science Officer and the Liew Family Professor of Quantum Engineering and Physics at the University of Chicago, received the prestigious Falling Walls Science Breakthrough of the Year in Physical Sciences for a pioneering body of work that broke the wall between quantum technology, molecules, and proteins. Read More
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Helium lifts new quantum computing concept
A team led by Jacob Covey, who is part of Q-NEXT and is an Associate Professor at the University of Chicago, laid out a new concept that could turn helium’s light weight into the next generation of quantum computers. The design relies on helium-3, an isotope with different quantum properties than the helium-4 used to cool MRI machines and fill party balloons. Once built, the computer could use high-powered lasers as “optical tweezers” to capture and control individual atoms of helium. Read More
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Researchers make materials that support quantum technology
Researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who are part of Q-NEXT are engineering material systems that support quantum technology. Chris Anderson and his team are developing materials for quantum transduction — the conversion of quantum information from one form to another. Elizabeth Goldschmidt, Daniel Shoemaker, and colleagues are developing quantum memory technology that stores quantum information for extended periods of time. Read More
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Silicon Chip Offers New Way to Probe Quantum Materials in Strong Magnetic Fields
Scientists have created a silicon chip that can detect the electrical behavior of very small materials by using very high-frequency waves. The chip is made only from silicon and other non-superconducting materials and still performs very well when cooled from room temperature down to about 4 Kelvin. Read More
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Making quantum bits ready to use again much sooner
Scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Intel have found that a simple electrical pulse can quickly push a quantum dot qubit out of a latched state and return it to its starting condition with very high reliability. Read More
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Q-NEXT-developed open-source software receives 2026 R&D 100 award
SeQUeNCe, a free, open-source software developed by Argonne scientists with Q-NEXT support, is one of seven Argonne projects that received a 2026 R&D 100 Award. The SeQUeNCe software lets researchers test how quantum networks might work before building them. Read More
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Researchers generate spontaneous magnons that synchronize with external signals
Researchers at Argonne and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign demonstrate a method for generating stable ripples in magnetic materials called magnons. The work opens avenues for information processing in microelectronics and quantum devices. Read More
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Uncovering the hidden disorder in silicon quantum computers
From the U.S. Department of Energy: Q-NEXT researchers map the variation in materials to the atom level to scale up silicon qubits Read More
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Color centers in high-purity diamond
Researchers mapped how electron irradiation makes defects inside diamond, finding that creating more vacancies does not always produce more NV centers. Too many vacancies can form unwanted defects. This result can inform advances in quantum sensing. Read More
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Containing multitudes: SLAC scientist collaborates to create scalable qubits
At SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Q-NEXT collaborator Shannon Harvey develops quantum dots — a mass-producible type of qubit. Driven by curiosity about nature and how things work, Harvey draws on her facility for working at the nanoscale. Read More