A Tiny Crystal Defect Reveals a Big Quantum Surprise
Scientists uncover a hidden energy-loss mechanism in silicon carbide that could unlock advances in quantum computing, sensing, and renewable energy technologies.
Date: October 23, 2026
Source: University of Chicago
Summary
Researchers have solved a long-standing challenge in understanding how tiny defects in materials like diamond and silicon carbide behave when exposed to light. Their new computational method revealed a surprisingly important energy-loss mechanism in silicon carbide that scientists had previously underestimated. The finding helps explain a mystery that has puzzled researchers for years and could improve the design of quantum computers and sensors.
Full Story
When light strikes a tiny imperfection inside a material such as diamond or silicon carbide, it can transfer energy to electrons and push them into an excited state. These imperfections, known as spin defects, could become valuable building blocks for future quantum technologies, including quantum sensors. Because they can function as stable qubits whose states can be read out, scientists are eager to understand exactly how they behave. However, predicting how their energy changes over time has remained a major challenge.
Researchers at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME) have now developed a computational method that provides a more complete picture of what happens when these defects interact with light. Their approach can simulate the entire optical cycle, including a particularly difficult process known as internal conversion.
The findings, published in Physical Review Letters, could help scientists design better materials for quantum technologies. The method may also prove useful for studying materials involved in renewable energy conversion and storage.
"This internal conversion process is not only relevant to spin defects β it's also related to processes of interest to energy technologies," said Giulia Galli, the Liew Family Professor of Electronic Structure and Simulations in UChicago PME and the Department of Chemistry, and the senior author of the study. "That's one of the reasons this work is so exciting."
How Quantum Defects Lose Energy
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