Despite existing standards for quantum-safe encryption and regulatory deadlines, post-quantum migration is slow. The bottleneck is no longer mathematics or physics but collective action, but only the physics community can provide credible, calibrated estimates of when quantum computers will matter.
Josephson junctions (JJs) made out of van der Waals (vdW) materials offer a unique route to explore novel functionalities in superconducting devices such as emergent phases, anisotropic order parameters and crystalline tunnel barriers that remain inaccessible in conventional JJs. Over the past decade, vdW JJs have advanced rapidly, driven by new fabrication techniques and a diverse vdW materials library that enables the integration of materials with vastly disparate properties for scientific exploration. Beyond material diversity, vdW crystalline materials offer new control over device symmetries, enabling the realization of Hamiltonians unique to 2D systems. Furthermore, the long relaxation times of excitations in 2D heterostructures open possibilities for creating quantum sensors, with the 2D material itself acting as an efficient bus for transmitting excitations to the active sensing element. The use of vdW materials has also opened up the opportunity to explore the effect of moiré structures and topology, which could lead to potential applications in quantum computation and ultra-sensitive hybrid sensors. Although opportunities abound with vdW JJs, the challenge of scalability must be surmounted for translation into real-world devices. In this Review, we synthesize current developments in this field and offer a forward-looking roadmap. van der Waals Josephson junctions offer opportunities to explore novel device functionalities in superconducting circuits. This Review discusses progress in different device architectures and provides a roadmap outlining near-term and long-term opportunities for the field.
Linus Chang explains how a paper that used statistical physics to explain how intestinal stem cells divide inspired his own work in biophysics.
In 1834, Mary Somerville’s On the Connexion of the Physical Sciences argued that astronomy, physics and mathematics belonged together. Saad Bhamla asks why this kind of synthesis tends to disappear into the subjects it organizes.
100 years on from Werner Heisenberg and Erwin Schrödinger’s dispute on how to conceptualize quantum mechanics, Arthur I. Miller reflects on the subtleties of visualization in physics.
Erwin Schrödinger is often portrayed as a reactionary who resisted the indeterminism introduced by quantum mechanics, but on closer inspection his views on determinism prove to be more complex and more radical.
Roanne Aves describes a platform to integrate graphene-FET based microfluidic modules into one experimental workflow.
Students need to experience quantum hardware beyond cloud access to learn how an ideal circuit becomes a physical measurement. Universities should therefore procure teachable systems, not showroom machines.
Rathindra Nath Das recounts how a simple framework to assess complexity published in 2022 shaped his own approach to physics.
Understanding and controlling matter at atomic scales is critical for materials science and condensed matter physics, as many macroscopic properties stem from phenomena and mechanisms at sub-nanometre dimensions. Although optical spectroscopy remains a cornerstone of materials characterization, scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) has become an essential tool because of its atomic-level spatial resolution. Terahertz (THz) STM brings together these two approaches by introducing picosecond THz pulses into the STM junction. This enables the exploration and manipulation of electron dynamics, molecular motions and many-body states with both atomic spatial and sub-picosecond temporal resolution. Here, we review the principles, methodologies and applications of THz-STM, highlighting its unique ability to simultaneously access temporal, spatial and energy domains to provide insight into ultrafast nanoscale phenomena and driving advances in next-generation technologies. We project future opportunities for THz-STM in quantum materials, including measuring non-equilibrium quantum topology that may feature Floquet and non-Hermitian physics as well as exploring optical control of superconductivity and light-induced Cooper pairing. Terahertz scanning tunnelling microscopy integrates picosecond pulses with atomic resolution, enabling detailed analysis of electron dynamics and molecular motions. This Technical Review outlines methods and applications, emphasizing insights into ultrafast phenomena and potential advances in quantum materials and technologies.
Restructuring research funding as a choice between discovery and application gets the economics wrong, the evidence wrong and the people wrong.
Furqanul Hassan Naqvi explains how careful Brillouin spectroscopy can provide insight into lattice dynamics beyond determining elastic constants.
Dhaneesh Kumar describes a method to enable the surface imaging of complex molecules.
Atomic force microscopy (AFM), first published in 1986, is now a workhorse of laboratories in physics and beyond. In this Viewpoint, seven scientists describe the variety of ways they use the technique and discuss how they’d like to see it develop in the future.
The past three decades have witnessed substantial progress in the performance of GaN-based light-emitting diodes. GaN light-emitting diodes, combined with wavelength-converting materials, enable highly efficient white-light sources that have caused a revolution in lighting applications, reaching more than 50% market adoption in the USA. This Review article discusses the underlying physics of GaN-based light-emitting diodes, focusing on how the quantum efficiency of the active region is affected by three key physical effects: intrinsic polarization fields, carrier localization by random alloy disorder, and crystal defects. Early theories are critically reviewed in view of current understanding and checked against the behaviour of real-world devices. We also offer perspectives on the prospects of extending III-nitride light emitters towards extreme wavelengths, at the ultraviolet and red ends of the spectrum. Because gallium nitride light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have made most of the visible spectrum available to LEDs, they have become the backbone of modern lighting applications. This Review examines three effects governing the physics of GaN-based LEDs: polarization fields, carrier localization and non-radiative defects.
Decolonizing physics is a scientific necessity often stalled by ‘competence anxiety’. By using the Six Thinking Hats framework, educators can navigate these challenging conversations with structure and safety.
Forty years after its invention, atomic force microscopy has evolved from a simple surface imaging tool into one of the most versatile measurement platforms in nanoscience. This Comment traces the key innovations.
Deciding whether a big science project is sustainable is a complex multi-dimensional problem, but there are tools from economics that can help with decision making.
Transparent conducting electrodes (TCEs) combine high optical transmittance and electrical conductivity, and are an essential component of tandem solar cells. Although tandem cells offer a pathway to power conversion efficiencies exceeding 40% at low cost, they introduce new challenges for TCE design. Achieving the required balance of optical, electrical and chemical properties has so far limited practical TCEs in tandems to a small set of high-cost, indium-based oxides. Recent advances in computational and experimental techniques have improved understanding of TCE solid-state physics, revealing promising alternative materials. In this Review, we examine the material properties essential for TCEs in perovskite–silicon tandems, evaluate current candidates, and highlight the key challenges and opportunities for next-generation TCE development. Our goal is to bridge the gap between materials science and device engineering, providing a roadmap to accelerate the integration of advanced TCEs in high-efficiency optoelectronic devices. Transparent conducting electrodes are a key performance and sustainability bottleneck in high-efficiency perovskite–silicon tandem solar cells. This Review examines how optical, electrical and interfacial losses in transparent conducting electrodes arise in tandem cells and outlines strategies to enable scalable, low-indium electrodes for next-generation devices.
Radioactive molecules provide a new platform in the search for new physics, at energy scales complementary to those probed by high-energy particle colliders. By combining enhancements from nuclear properties with the sensitivity and control offered by molecular structure, experiments with radioactive molecules offer great reach in the search for physics beyond the standard model. Progress in this field is being driven by advances in the production and control of radioactive molecules, alongside the development of new experimental tools and theoretical techniques. In this Perspective, we discuss the current status and future prospects of this rapidly developing, interdisciplinary field at the intersection of nuclear physics, atomic and molecular physics and particle physics. Radioactive molecules containing octupole-deformed nuclei offer a promising platform for measuring fundamental symmetry violations and searching for new physics. This Perspective discusses how advances in their production, trapping and molecular quantum control are enabling precision tests of fundamental physics at energy scales complementary to those probed by high-energy colliders.
