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Scaling Si spin qubits relies on the uniform control of qubit-host interactions. This work finds correlations in qubit energy levels across a manufactured device arising from placement of Ge in the quantum well, consistent with atomistic modeling.

Joseph Heremans and Joshua Martin discuss the reproducibility of thermoelectric measurements and conclude that the uncertainty on the figure of merit zT is of the order of 15–20%.

The thermal conductivity of diamagnetic InSb decreases as a magnetic field is increased at low temperatures and is attributed to local dynamic diamagnetism, bringing forth evidence of the magnetic response of phonons.

Single crystals of tin selenide have been shown to display, along one crystallographic direction of their high-temperature state, the highest thermoelectric efficiency of any bulk material. See Letter p.373

A single-band metal whose carriers behave as electrons or holes depending on the direction of travel is observed. The effect arises from a particular type of Fermi surface geometry.

Anharmonicity is a property of lattice vibrations governing how they interact and how well they conduct heat. Experiments on tin selenide, the most efficient thermoelectric material known, now provide a link between anharmonicity and electronic orbitals.

A thermal signature of the chiral anomaly is reported in an ideal Weyl semimetal.

Researchers show that atom-like dipoles based on germanium vacancy centres in diamond may be useful as antennas, exhibiting million-fold near-field optical intensity enhancement. These antennas are used to detect and control the charge state of nearby carbon vacancies.

Tetradymite-type materials, such as Bi₂Te₃, have for decades been of interest as excellent thermoelectrics near ambient temperature and have recently enabled many seminal studies on topological insulators. In this Review, we discuss the recent progress in optimizing the properties of bulk and thin-film tetradymites for such studies.

An all-optical manipulation of the Berry phase based on stimulated Raman adiabatic passage is demonstrated in an individual nitrogen–vacancy centre in diamond. The adiabatic control is 100 times faster than that demonstrated before in atomic systems.

Development of diamond-based quantum and electronic technologies requires heterogeneous integration, which has remained challenging. This work realizes direct bonding of single crystal diamond membranes to a broad range of technology-relevant substrates while maintaining quantum coherence for hosted qubits.

The anomalous Nernst effect (ANE) in topological materials with large Berry curvature shows great potential for transverse thermoelectrics, but antiferromagnets typically show small ANEs. The antiferromagnet YbMnBi₂ has an ANE thermopower of 3 μV K⁻¹, similar to ferromagnets, and a larger ANE conductivity.

The spin Seebeck effect enables thermal-to-electrical energy conversion but the power generated in thin films remains low. Here, Boonaet al. use composites of ferromagnetic conductors containing noble metal nanoparticles to show that the effect can enhance the transverse thermopower of bulk materials.

The spin Nernst effect — a spin accumulation in a ferromagnet in the direction normal to an applied thermal gradient and external magnetic field — has been experimentally demonstrated.

Defects in silicon carbide represent a viable candidate for realization of spin qubits. Here, the authors show stable bidirectional charge state conversion for the silicon vacancy and divacancy, improving the photoluminescence intensity by up to three orders of magnitude with no effect on spin coherence.

The authors use surface acoustic waves, focused in a Gaussian geometry, to manipulate the spin state of divacancy defects in silicon carbide via mechanical driving. They demonstrate that shear strain is important in controlling the spin transitions.

Certain point defects in crystals can be used as optically addressable quantum bits, much like atoms trapped in vacuum. Ivády et al. show that embedding such artificial atoms in stacking faults can actually improve their optical properties, making them function even more like true atoms.

Thermoelectric devices enable heat-electricity conversion, but achieving a large Nernst effect typically requires strong magnetic fields. Here, the authors demonstrate that YbMnBi₂, with its unique band topology and magnetic order, exhibits a remarkably high anomalous Nernst thermopower among magnetic materials, offering a promising route for efficient transverse thermoelectric applications.

The theoretical work done by Lyndon Hicks and Mildred Dresselhaus 20 years ago on the effect of reduced dimensionality on thermoelectric efficiency has had deep implications beyond the initial expectations.

Defect-based spin qubits offer a versatile platform for creating solid-state quantum devices. This Review is a guide for understanding the properties and applications of current spin defects, and provides a framework for designing, engineering and discovering new qubit candidates

Adiabatic processes are useful in quantum control, but they are slow. A way around this is to exploit shortcuts to adiabaticity, which can speed things up — for instance, by boosting stimulated Raman adiabatic passage.