Lower cooling requirements, longer operating times, lower error rates: Quantum computers based on spin photons and diamond promise significant advantages over competing quantum computing technologies. The consortium of the BMBF project SPINNING coordinated by Fraunhofer IAF has succeeded in decisively advancing the development of spin-photon-based quantum computers. On October 22 and 23, 2024, the partners presented the interim project results at the mid-term meeting of the BMBF funding measure Quantum Computer Demonstration Setups in Berlin.

Diamonds with certain optically active defects can be used as highly sensitive sensors or qubits for quantum computers, where the quantum information is stored in the electron spin state of these colour centres. However, the spin states have to be read out optically, which is often experimentally complex. Now, a team at HZB has developed an elegant method using a photo voltage to detect the individual and local spin states of these defects. This could lead to a much more compact design of quantum sensors.

Nuclear spins in a crystal can be detected and manipulated through their interactions with the more accessible electron spin of a neighboring crystal defect. This strategy has enabled nanoscale magnetic resonance imaging and other quantum applications. But a long-standing challenge has been to target a specific nuclear spin, while protecting the delicate quantum nature of the electron spin. Important progress on this challenge has now been achieved by two teams at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.

In the new study, the team formulated a quantum algorithm (a set of computer instructions) that can be used in theory to find low-energy states—what physicists call local minima—of any material. Their study theoretically proves that the algorithm will perform much better than its classical counterparts.

Scientists have long sought to unravel the mysteries of strange metals — materials that defy conventional rules of electricity and magnetism. Now, a team of physicists at Rice University has made a breakthrough in this area using a tool from quantum information science. Their study, published recently in Nature Communications, reveals that electrons in strange metals become more entangled at a crucial tipping point, shedding new light on the behavior of these enigmatic materials. The discovery could pave the way for advances in superconductors with the potential to transform energy use in the future.

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, along with scientists and engineers at the computer chip manufacturer Diraq, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Chicago and Manchester University, have proposed the development of a quantum sensor made of quantum bits called spin qubits in silicon to probe beyond Standard Model physics. Diraq is a global leader in quantum computing technology on silicon, which is essential to the Quandarum project.

Fujitsu Limited today announced the world’s first demonstration of a complete universal quantum gate set for diamond spin qubits with an error probability below 0.1%, achieving a fidelity among the highest reported over all quantum hardware technologies. This collaboration with QuTech, a leading quantum technology research institute of Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), marks an important step for the diamond spin method towards carrying out quantum error correction and realizing practical quantum computing. The findings were published in Physical Review Applied on March 21, 2025.

UC Riverside has received a Collaborative Research and Training Award of nearly $4 million from the UC National Laboratory Fees Research Program to explore how antiferromagnetic spintronics can be used to advantage in advanced memory and computing.

For the first time, researchers have demonstrated that phosphorene nanoribbons (PNRs) exhibit both magnetic and semiconducting properties at room temperature. The research, led by the University of Cambridge with international colleagues, establishes PNRs as a unique class of low-dimensional materials that challenges conventional views on magnetic semiconductors, and could provide a stepping stone to unlocking new quantum technologies.

At the end of January, Empa opened a new laboratory that aims to harness quantum effects from carbon. This could pave the way for sustainable quantum technologies, including quantum computers. The project is supported by the Werner Siemens Foundation.