Topic: Materials Science

Scientists at the University of Technology Sydney found a new way to control tiny sources of quantum light by twisting atomically thin layers of hexagonal boron nitride. This breakthrough could help make quantum computers and other technologies more practical.

This simple twist could bring quantum computers closer to reality

Researchers at the University of Technology Sydney have demonstrated a new way to control tiny sources of quantum light by twisting atomically thin layers of hexagonal boron nitride. The advance provides scientists with a new method for tuning quantum emitters, which are microscopic light sources that could play an important role in future technologies such as quantum computing, secure communications, and ultra-sensitive sensors.

Lead author Dr. Angus Gale said the work offers researchers a valuable new tool for making these quantum systems more practical. "You can measure these quantum emitters and see that they exist, but it's hard to make them work in practice. This gives us a lever to get closer to that -- a step towards the realization of quantum technologies," said Dr. Gale.

Twisting Layers Changes Quantum Light

During the experiments, Gale and his team found that twisting the material could significantly alter both the color and wavelength of the light emitted by the quantum emitters. The magnitude of the change was especially noteworthy. Most studies create a device at a specific twist angle and leave it unchanged. In contrast, the researchers were able to repeatedly lift, rotate, and restack the material, allowing them to continuously modify its properties.

"We're leveraging the fact that this material, hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), is layered. We can pick it up, stack it, twist it, and use that twist to modify the emitters. You can't really do that with traditional materials like diamond or silicon carbide," said Gale.

"The benefit is that we used this twistable platform to shift the emission by a very significant amount," said Gale. "Often when you control these systems, the amount of manipulation is very limited, but in this case the shift was much larger than expected.

Rather than trying to make hBN defects behave like a traditional solid-state hosts, we took advantage of hBN's own strength: its thin, layered, twistable structure."

Why It Matters

This breakthrough could help India's students and researchers develop new technologies that can improve healthcare, cybersecurity, and GPS systems. It also shows how simple twists in materials can lead to significant advancements in quantum computing.

Key Facts

• Researchers at the University of Technology Sydney found a new way to control tiny sources of quantum light by twisting atomically thin layers of hexagonal boron nitride.
• The advance provides scientists with a new method for tuning quantum emitters, which are microscopic light sources that could play an important role in future technologies such as quantum computing, secure communications, and ultra-sensitive sensors.
• Twisting the material can significantly alter both the color and wavelength of the light emitted by the quantum emitters.
• The researchers were able to repeatedly lift, rotate, and restack the material, allowing them to continuously modify its properties.
• This breakthrough could help India's students and researchers develop new technologies that can improve healthcare, cybersecurity, and GPS systems.

Key Terms

Hexagonal Boron Nitride

A type of atomically thin material that is layered and twistable

Implications

This breakthrough could help India's students and researchers develop new technologies that can improve healthcare, cybersecurity, and GPS systems. It also shows how simple twists in materials can lead to significant advancements in quantum computing.