Microsoft Quantum published an article in Nature on Feb. 19 detailing recent advances in the measurement of quantum devices that will be needed to realize a topological quantum computer. Among the authors are Microsoft scientists and engineers who conduct research at Microsoft Quantum Lab West Lafayette, located at Purdue University. In an announcement by Microsoft Quantum, the team describes the operation of a device that is a necessary building block for a topological quantum computer. The published results are an important milestone along the path to construction of quantum computers that are potentially more robust and powerful than existing technologies.

Long at the vanguard of international efforts to answer questions like these, ORNL’s contributions remain strong today. David Radford, head of the lab’s Fundamental Nuclear and Particle Physics section, is an internationally renowned expert in the field who has had an indelible impact on the development of germanium detectors. Vital experimentation tools at the forefront of fundamental physics research, germanium detectors are large, single crystals of germanium — a metallic element — used to detect radiation and enable incredibly precise energy measurements.

The measurement breaks the “nanometer barrier,” allowing researchers to observe ultrafast collective electronic motion on a new class of ultra-small particles, valued for their ability to trap and manipulate light.

CEA-Leti, in its collaboration with Quobly, CEA-List and CEA-Irig, reported today it has developed a unique solution using FD-SOI CMOS technology that provides simultaneous microsecond readouts of tens of quantum devices, while reducing the readout power consumption by 10x and footprint by 2x. Combined with Quobly’s strategy to build qubits out of FD-SOI technology, this readout architecture provides a path to low power and scalable quantum integrated circuits.

Researchers from CQT and University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney have proven fundamentally that a spinning atomic nucleus really is a quantum resource. The teams were led respectively by CQT Deputy Director and Principal Investigator Valerio Scarani and Scientia Professor Andrea Morello from UNSW Engineering. The paper was published in Newton on 14 February 2025.

Researchers at the University of Rochester—including John Nichol, an associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy—have taken a key step toward reducing instability in quantum systems, by focusing on an elusive state called a nuclear-spin dark state.

In a groundbreaking discovery, researchers from Nagoya University in Japan and the Slovak Academy of Sciences have unveiled new insights into the interplay between quantum theory and thermodynamics. The team demonstrated that while quantum theory does not inherently forbid violations of the second law of thermodynamics, quantum processes may be implemented without actually breaching the law. This discovery, published in npj Quantum Information, highlights a harmonious coexistence between the two fields, despite their logical independence. Their findings open up new avenues for understanding the thermodynamic boundaries of quantum technologies, such as quantum computing and nanoscale engines.

Quantum Dice, a University of Oxford spin-out pioneering quantum random number generator (QRNG) technology, and Thales, a leading global technology and security provider, have launched a QRNG-backed Hardware Security Module (HSM), bringing the security advantages of Quantum Dice’s patented DISC™ protocol to enterprise customers. The integrated solution allows organisations to verify and quantify the security of their cryptographic keys in real-time, ensuring robust protection for classical applications and a seamless transition to post-quantum security, all while meeting the highest standards of security and compliance.

Argonne physicists have adapted superconducting nanowire photon detectors to be sensitive and precise high-energy particle detectors.

Today, Yunger Halpern’s work as an award-winning physicist also straddles two centuries and two worlds – thermodynamics and quantum mechanics.