Magnetism Has Just Solved One of Quantum Tech’s Biggest Challenges

Researchers have found a way to preserve quantum properties in 3D materials using magnetic confinement. By stabilizing excitons—energy-carrying quasiparticles—through the magnetic properties of chromium sulfide bromide, they address a major challenge in quantum technology.

Quantum effects typically only work at small scales, making them hard to apply in real-world systems like quantum computers. However, Penn State and Columbia University physicists have developed a method to preserve these effects in 3D materials, offering a potential solution.

“Maintaining the properties of 2D materials beyond the 2D limit is a tough challenge,” said Yinming Shao, Penn State assistant professor. These materials have great potential in flexible electronics, energy storage, and quantum technologies.

The team focused on excitons, which carry energy without an electrical charge. While excitons are stable in 2D materials like graphene, they are unstable in bulk materials like silicon. To solve this, the researchers turned to chromium sulfide bromide (CrSBr), which transforms into an antiferromagnetic state at low temperatures. This magnetic confinement keeps excitons in place, preserving their quantum properties in bulk materials.

“This approach creates a single atomic layer without exfoliating it, while preserving a sharp interface,” said Shao.

Experimental Validation of Magnetic Confinement

Through optical spectroscopy, modeling, and calculations, the team confirmed that magnetic confinement worked consistently across different layers of the material. Their results were corroborated by a research group in Germany, who studied similar properties in magnetic semiconductors.

“Our data aligned perfectly, which is remarkable since we used different crystal materials in different labs,” Shao explained.

This breakthrough leverages magnetism, Van der Waals interactions, and excitons to achieve quantum confinement, opening new doors for advancing optical systems and quantum technologies. “Combining these aspects of physics was key to this discovery,” Shao concluded.

Read Original Article: Scitechdaily

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