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2mo ago

Magnetic Semiconductor Enables Quantum Confinement in 3D Materials

Researchers demonstrate how chromium sulfide bromide's magnetic properties confine quantum excitons, paving the way for advanced quantum technologies.

The illustration shows the layers of semiconductor crystal stacked together. Electron orbitals within the layers are represented as sitting atop them. The double-lobed orbitals indicate the locations of excited electrons while single ellipsoids show the ground state, where empty spaces called holes are left behind. Although similar orbitals might be expected running front to back, or in and out of the layers, the research team co-led by the University of Regensburg and University of Michigan showed why excited electrons are mainly funneled into one orientation of this orbital. Credit: Brad Baxley, Part to Whole. Copyright: For use reporting on this study, DOI: 10.1038/s41563-025-02120-1
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Overview

  • Chromium sulfide bromide (CrSBr), a layered magnetic semiconductor, confines excitons to a single dimension due to its unique antiferromagnetic structure at low temperatures.
  • Excitons, quasiparticles formed by electron-hole pairs, are stabilized and confined in CrSBr without the need for traditional 2D exfoliation techniques.
  • The material's magnetic order allows excitons to retain quantum properties in bulk 3D structures, addressing a key challenge in scaling quantum technologies.
  • This breakthrough could lead to applications in quantum computing, sensing, and advanced optical systems by leveraging CrSBr's ability to encode and transfer information using photons, spins, and vibrations.
  • Collaborative research teams used optical spectroscopy and theoretical modeling to confirm the magnetic confinement's consistency across layers and its potential for quantum information processing.