SYDNEY — Researchers at the University of Technology Sydney demonstrated a method to control quantum light sources by twisting atomically thin layers of hexagonal boron nitride. The research was published in the journal Science Advances on June 20, 2026.

The experiments showed that altering the layers of hexagonal boron nitride by twisting them changed the color and wavelength of light emitted by quantum emitters within the material. The researchers repeatedly lifted, rotated, and restacked hexagonal boron nitride to modify its properties as part of the experiments.

Dr. Angus Gale, the lead author of the study, stated that the ability to control quantum emitters through this method brings researchers closer to realizing quantum technologies. "You can measure these quantum emitters and see that they exist, but it's hard to make them work in practice. This gives us a lever to get closer to that -- a step towards the realization of quantum technologies," Gale said.

Hexagonal boron nitride is a material composed of atom-thin layers. "We're leveraging the fact that this material, hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), is layered. We can pick it up, stack it, twist it, and use that twist to modify the emitters. You can't really do that with traditional materials like diamond or silicon carbide," he said. "Often when you control these systems, the amount of manipulation is very limited, but in this case the shift was much larger than expected," he said.

Professor Igor Aharonovich, the supervising author of the study, said that combining two layers of the material at a specific angle can create a different system. "You can take two layers that don't do much on their own, put them together at a specific angle, and suddenly you have a completely different system," Professor Aharonovich said. "These materials could eventually be used for quantum computing communications and quantum sensing, which would help for applications such as healthcare, cybersecurity and improved GPS; and gives us more control over the building blocks needed to get there," he said. Other co-authors of the study include Seungjun Lee, Seungmin Park, Evan Williams, Helen Zhi Jie Zeng, James Liddle-Wesolowski, Young Duck Kim, Milos Toth, and Tony Low.