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Measurements of a steady emission of single photons from a quantum dot demonstrate that the fluctuations of the electric field can periodically be 3% below the fundamental quantum limit and confirm the long-standing prediction that the quantum state of single photons can be squeezed.

Silicon vacancy centres in diamond have favourable optical properties for use in quantum information processing. Here, the authors demonstrate coherent control of silicon vacancy spins, a prerequisite for the implementation of quantum computing operations.

Diamond colour centres are of interest for solid-state quantum technologies but obtaining an efficient spin-photon interface remains challenging. Here, the authors use resonant excitation under magnetic fields to optically access the electronic spin sublevels of silicon-vacancy centres in diamond.

Coherent single photons can be exploited in many quantum interference applications like quantum communication or entanglement. In this work, the authors achieve the generation of phase-locked single photons from a quantum dot, thus opening a new route to solid-state quantum networks.

Atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenides hold promise as scalable single-photon sources. Here, the authors demonstrate all-electrical, single-photon generation in tungsten disulphide and diselenide, achieving charge injection into the layers, containing quantum emitters.

Quantum emitters have been recently isolated in 2D materials, yet their spatial controllability remains an open challenge. Here, the authors devise a method to create arrays of quantum emitters in WSe₂ and WS₂, by taking advantage of the strain distribution induced by a nanopatterned silica substrate.

A quantum two-level system can be coherently excited by a phase-locked dichromatic electromagnetic field. This technique can make single-photon generation more efficient as the pump light does not overlap in frequency with the emitted single photons.

Silicon-vacancy centres in diamond are promising candidates as emitters in photonic quantum networks, but their coherence is degraded by large electron-phonon interactions. Sohn et al. demonstrate the use of strain to tune a silicon vacancy’s electronic structure and suppress phonon-mediated decoherence.

Multi-exciton states may emerge in atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenides as a result of strong many-body interactions. Here, the authors report experimental evidence of four- and five-particle biexciton complexes in monolayer WSe₂ and their electrical control.

Pulse-excited resonance-fluorescence single-photons are generated on demand from a single quantum dot embedded in a microcavity under s-shell excitation with an ultrafast laser source.

Although sensing is one of the more established quantum technologies, translating quantum science into real-world biomedical impact requires further effort to overcome technical hurdles as well as structural and societal challenges.

Defects in materials can be used to detect magnetic fields at the nanoscale. Here the authors show that a carbon-related defect in hexagonal boron nitride acts as a robust nanoscale sensor capable of vectorial magnetic field detection.

Group-IV color centers in diamond show promise for spin-photon interfaces, but precise positioning and activation are challenging. Here the authors combine site-controlled ion implantation with laser annealing and in-situ photoluminescence monitoring to create and tune individual tin vacancy centers in diamond.

The photoluminescent properties of electron spins at nitrogen–vacancy (NV) centres are promising for use in quantum information and magnetometry. It is now shown that the coherence times of NV centres in nanodiamonds can be engineered to be comparable to those of bulk diamond.

Two experiments observe the so-called ‘Mollow triplet’ in the emission spectrum of a quantum dot—originating from resonantly driving a dot transition—and demonstrate the potential of these systems to act as single-photon sources and as a readout modality for electron-spin states.

The interaction of a quantum system with its surroundings is usually detrimental, introducing decoherence. Experiments now show how such interactions can be harnessed to provide all-optical control of the spin state of a quantum dot.

The thousands of nuclear spins surrounding gallium arsenide quantum dots can interface with electron spin qubits and photons. With quantum engineering, this nuclear spin ensemble becomes a robust register for quantum information storage.

Quantum coherent control of single-photon-emitting defect spins have been reported in hexagonal boron nitride, revealing that spin coherence is mainly governed by coupling to a few proximal nuclei and can be prolonged by decoupling protocols.

By implanting ¹¹⁷Sn, a fibre-packaged nanophotonic diamond waveguide with optically addressable hyperfine transitions separated by 452 MHz is demonstrated. This enables the formation of a spin-gated optical switch and achieving a waveguide-to-fibre extraction efficiency of 57%.

Diamond quantum magnetometry is utilized to directly read the vorticity of antiferromagnetic spin textures through coupled multi-polar emergent magnetic charge distributions.

Optically active semiconductor quantum dots have so far suffered from nuclear inhomogeneity limiting all dynamical decoupling measurements to a few microseconds. Lattice-matched GaAs–AlGaAs quantum dots now enable decoupling schemes to achieve a 0.11 ms spin coherence time.

Atoms in a semiconductor can have non-zero nuclear spins, creating a large ensemble with many quantum degrees of freedom. An electron spin coupled to the nuclei of a semiconductor quantum dot can witness the creation of entanglement within the ensemble.

Optically active spins in solid-state materials hold promise for future quantum technologies. Here, the authors demonstrate optically detected magnetic resonance at room temperature for single defects in a two-dimensional material, hexagonal boron nitride.

This Review highlights the role of transition metal dichalcogenides, hexagonal boron nitride and stacked heterostructures in applications in quantum communication, computation, sensing and single-photon detection.

Atom-like quantum emitters in solids have emerged as promising building blocks for quantum information processing. In this Review, recent advances in three leading material platforms—diamond, silicon carbide and atomically thin semiconductors—are summarized, with a focus on applications in quantum networks

Excitons are quasiparticles consisting of an electron-hole pair and can be used to study many-body phenomenon. Here, the authors demonstrate on-demand quantum confinement of long-lived interlayer excitons in WS₂/WSe₂ heterostructures deposited on nanopatterned substrates.