quantum materials
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High-quality silicon-hybrid qubits
Silicon carbide has promising potential uses in quantum, but it can be hard to produce. Researchers develop a method that could pave the way for integrating silicon carbide into traditional devices on a large scale. Read More
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Two molecular qubits for quantum sensing
Scientists explore vanadium- and molybdenum-based molecular qubits for quantum sensing applications. Read More
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Combining trapped atoms and photonics for new quantum devices
From the University of Chicago: Researchers have discovered how to combine two powerful technologies — trapped atom arrays and photonic devices — to yield advanced systems for quantum computing, simulation and networking. The new combination will allow the construction of large quantum systems which can be easily scaled up, by leveraging photonics to interconnect individual atom arrays. Read More
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Polymer design for quantum materials
By designing the lattice structure of polymers, it’s possible to control how effectively triplet states form — important for applications in the development of quantum materials. Read More
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Manipulating superconductor materials for quantum optical materials
Scientists find strong evidence for broken-time reversal symmetry in a class of superconductors, opening possibilities for controlling quantum materials using light. Read More
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‘Quantum optical antennas’ provide more powerful measurements on the atomic level
From the University of Chicago: Researchers have never been able to tap the potentially huge intensity enhancements of some “atomic antennas” in solid materials simply because they were solids. Now, a multi-institutional team led by the University of Chicago's Alex High has cracked this problem. They have used germanium vacancy centers in diamonds to create an optical energy enhancement of six orders of magnitude, a regime challenging to reach with conventional antenna structures. Read More
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Stanford scientists bring crystal clarity to diamond’s quantum signals
In work supported by the Q-NEXT quantum center, a Stanford University group digs into diamond to find the source of its apparently temperamental nature when it comes to emitting quantum signals, widening a path for building quantum networks and sensors. Read More
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Observing individual molecules — label-free
Scientists develop a method for observing single-molecule interactions without using labels. The method could further our knowledge of molecular dynamics and advance quantum sensing. Read More
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Longer lasting erbium-based qubits
Researchers create a method for growing erbium-doped thin films that allow them to be practically integrated into quantum communication devices. Read More
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Design rules and synthesis of quantum memory candidates
From the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: Researchers use density functional theory calculations to identify possible europium compounds to serve as a new quantum memory platform. They also synthesize one of the predicted compounds, a brand new, air-stable material that is a strong candidate for use in quantum memory 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