A research team at HZB has developed a clever technique to read quantum spin states in diamonds using electrical signals instead of light. This breakthrough could dramatically simplify quantum sensors and computing hardware.

Diamonds that contain specific optically active defects, known as color centers, can serve as highly sensitive sensors or as qubits for quantum computers, with quantum information stored in their electron spin states. Traditionally, reading these spin states requires optical methods, which are often complex and difficult to implement. Now, researchers at HZB have developed a more streamlined approach: using photovoltage to detect the spin states of individual defects. This method could pave the way for much smaller and more compact quantum sensors.

Harnessing Defects for Spin States.

Researchers in China have achieved a major leap in quantum photonics by generating a massive 60-mode entangled cluster state directly on a chip using optical microresonators.

By leveraging a deterministic, continuous-variable approach and a multiple-laser pump technique, they overcame traditional limitations in scalability. The team confirmed high-quality entanglement using advanced detection methods, paving the way for powerful quantum technologies like chip-based computers, secure communications, and cutting-edge sensors.

Breakthrough in On-Chip Quantum Entanglement.

Consumer electronic devices are made from materials that we have been using for more than 60 years, mainly silicon, germanium and copper. Why have semiconductor electronics become increasingly fast over this time?

I would argue that this is due to miniaturization, or the ability to stack an increasingly large number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit (microchip). Some may argue that we are starting to reach limits in that miniaturization, as thin films approach a thickness of just about 10 nanometers, or even lower.

These nearly two-dimensional (2D) materials could be used to build the next-generation electronics. However, as electronic materials like silicon are miniaturized, they become less energy efficient.

In a physics first, a team including scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has created a way to make beams of neutrons travel in curves. These Airy beams (named for English scientist George Airy), which the team created using a custom-built device, could enhance neutrons’ ability to reveal useful information about materials ranging from pharmaceuticals to perfumes to pesticides — in part because the beams can bend around obstacles.

“We’ve known about these strange, self-steering wave patterns for a while, but until now, no one had ever made them with neutrons,” said NIST’s Michael Huber, one of the paper’s authors. “This opens up a whole new way to control neutron beams, which could help us see inside materials or explore some big questions in physics.”

A paper announcing the findings appears today in Physical Review Letters. The team was led by the University at Buffalo’s Dusan Sarenac, and coauthors from the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) at the University of Waterloo in Canada built the custom device that helped create the Airy beam. The team also includes scientists from the University of Maryland, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Switzerland’s Paul Scherrer Institut, and Germany’s Jülich Center for Neutron Science at Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum.