A joint research team from the School of Integrated Circuits Science and Engineering at Tianjin University of Technology (Pei Li, Cuiping Li Group), University of Science and Technology of China, Beijing Computational Science Research Center, and Wigner Research Centre for Physics in Hungary has recently published a paper titled “Non-invasive bioinert room-temperature quantum sensor from silicon carbide qubits” in “Nature Materials”.

Achieving stable quantum sensing under ambient and biologically relevant conditions remains a central challenge in the development of solid-state spin qubits. Shallow defects positioned only a few nanometers beneath a surface are highly sensitive to magnetic signals but also highly susceptible to surface noise, optical instability, and environmental disturbance. Addressing these limitations, this study demonstrates that alkene-terminated silicon carbide (SiC) can host shallow divacancy qubits that operate with remarkable stability and sensitivity at room temperature, establishing a bioinert and non-invasive quantum sensing platform.

The researchers introduce a molecular-level alkene surface modification that forms a robust passivating layer on SiC. This engineered termination effectively suppresses surface defects and charge instabilities, leading to significantly improved optical signal quality and enhanced spin coherence for ultra-shallow divacancy centers. Because SiC is intrinsically biocompatible, the resulting quantum sensor is well-suited for measurements in biological environments.

A key advantage of the system is its excitation and emission wavelengths fall to the so-called second biological window in the near-infrared where the autofluorescence from the organic species and water is minimal, making them highly suitable for bio-compatible quantum sensing applications. With the isotope engineered SiC, the magnetic field sensitivity reaches ~13 nT/√Hz for single divacancy quantum sensor using pulsed-ESR spectroscopy, offering a promising route toward room-temperature nanoscale nuclear-spin detection.

Beyond sensing, the chemically programmable alkene termination provides a versatile interface for target-specific functionalization, enabling customized detection of biological radicals, molecular targets, or nuclear-spin ensembles.

Together, these results illustrate a practical strategy for enhancing solid-state qubit performance through surface molecular engineering. By integrating a bioinert semiconductor host, infrared-compatible optical readout, and a flexible surface chemistry framework, this work establishes a promising foundation for next-generation room-temperature bio-quantum sensing, quantum simulation, and SiC-based optoelectronic technologies.

Publication Details:https://www.nature.com/articles/s41563-025-02382-9

Nat. Mater. (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41563-025-02382-9