Scanning the horizon for materials for quantum technologies

On 3 July 2024, the Materials Horizon Scanning interest group of M4QN hosted a session at the IOP Condensed Matter Quantum Materials conference held in St Andrews, UK. This conference brought together UK and international leaders and early career researchers across condensed matter physics, including quantum materials as well as materials-based quantum technologies. The session was titled: Materials for Quantum Technologies – Materials Horizon Scanning.

M4QN’s aim in sponsoring the session was to provide a focus on development of emerging material systems for quantum technology, in a setting where members of both the ‘quantum’ and ‘materials’ communities were present. The invited speakers included Dr. Ivan Vera-Marun and Dr. Alice Bowen from University of Manchester, Dr. Sai Kiran Rajendran from the University of St Andrews and Dr. Soham Pal from the University of Cambridge.

M4QN supported the event by covering the registration fees for the speakers. The event was well attended, gave rise to active question and answer sessions and led on to many active post-talk discussions amongst attendees on the material systems presented. These systems included molecular materials, defects in diamond, cuprous oxide and 2D materials.

More broadly, this event showed that there are plenty more opportunities within the materials research space for interdisciplinary collaboration to advance the development of quantum technologies within the UK, and opportunities like the IOP event should continue to be used to further this goal.