quantum materials
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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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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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Stoichiometric crystal shows promise in quantum memory
In recent years, rare earth atoms in solid materials at cryogenic temperatures have shown to be promising for quantum memory. As part of this inquiry, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have identified favorable properties in a stoichiometric europium material with a layered structure. They report the growth and characterization of NaEu(IO₃)₄, a rare earth material that may have future implications in quantum memory. Read More
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Meet the Winner of the 2026 ACS Photonics Young Investigator Lectureship Award
From ACS Axial: University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Mikhail Kats, the recipient of the 2026 ACS Photonics Young Investigator Award, talks about his work studying materials’ optical properties, his career, and the future of nanomaterials. Read More
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Five years of next-generation quantum research at Q-NEXT
As Q-NEXT approaches its five-year anniversary, we capture a dozen of the collaboration's many outstanding research results. In quantum materials, communication, sensing and computing, Q-NEXT is advancing technologies that are expected to change how we exchange information. 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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Higher control over high-frequency superconducting qubits
A research team shows how to control individual photons at millimeter-wave frequencies using a special qubit. The breakthrough could open a new part of the electromagnetic spectrum for quantum technologies. Read More
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New biosensor solves old quantum riddle
From University of Chicago: UChicago’s Peter Maurer and team encase a diamond nanoparticle with a specially engineered shell to create a quantum biosensor ideal for a living cell. Read More
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Creating color centers for quantum science
Argonne scientist Benjamin Pingault, a researcher at the Q-NEXT quantum center, creates color centers — qubits made by manipulating single atoms within a crystal — and emphasizes the importance of creativity and adaptability for fruitful collaboration. Read More
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Nanoplatelet-plasmon interactions for quantum devices
Scientists show how semiconductor nanoplatelets interact with plasmons and develop a related model to explain the behavior. The work could lead to more efficient quantum devices. 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