spin qubits
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The fabulous five: Open Quantum Initiative undergraduate fellows conduct research at Argonne
Five undergraduates, countless qubits and one summer at Argonne: A summer of research ignites undergraduates’ passion for quantum information science. Read More
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Connecting with commercial networks through erbium
Erbium ions are great for quantum networks: They emit and absorb light at telecom frequencies. Q-NEXT researchers show that erbium spins in thin films of doped cerium oxide stay coherent for tens of microseconds and even longer with special techniques. Read More
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Resetting the spin
Researchers at Cornell improve tiny diamond-based quantum sensors by using light to reset their internal spins, making them much more sensitive. The advance could lead to better quantum gyroscopes and ultraprecise motion sensors. Read More
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Dream of quantum internet inches closer after breakthrough helps beam information over fiber-optic networks
From Live Science: Built from a single erbium atom, a hybrid quantum bit encodes data magnetically and beams it through fiber-optic wavelengths. Read More
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Spin qubits: sensing heartbeats to dark matter — with Argonne National Laboratory
From the Post Quantum World podcast: The word “foundry” might make you think of large machines pouring metal into molds, but Argonne National Lab has a Quantum Foundry that implants individual atoms, like silicon, into materials such as diamond. The resulting spin qubits are optically active and can use photons to communicate. We can expect spin qubits to help interconnect systems, which could help us achieve distributed quantum computing, but they also could be used for everything from room-temperature biological sensors to durable, space-based dark matter detectors. Join host Konstantinos Karagiannis for a cosmic chat with Benjamin Pingault from Argonne National Laboratory. 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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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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Researchers invent new way to stretch diamond for better quantum bits
A team of researchers at the University of Chicago, Argonne National Laboratory and Cambridge University have announced a breakthrough in quantum network engineering: By “stretching” thin films of diamond, they created quantum bits that can operate with significantly reduced equipment and expense. The change also makes the bits easier to control. The researchers hope the findings, published Nov. 29 in Physical Review X, can make future quantum networks more feasible. Read More
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Simulations reveal the atomic-scale story of qubits
From the University of Chicago: Researchers led by Giulia Galli at the University of Chicago report a computational study that predicts the conditions to create specific spin defects in silicon carbide. Their findings, published online in Nature Communications, represent an important step towards identifying fabrication parameters for spin defects useful for quantum technologies. Read More
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Embracing imperfection for quantum technologies
From Physics Today: Q-NEXT Director David Awschalom co-writes a comprehensive rundown of the use of atomic defects as qubits. These solid-state spin qubits are unlocking applications in nanoscale quantum sensing and are at the forefront of creating distributed, long-distance entanglement that could enable a quantum internet. 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