Scientists announced, on Thursday, July 2, 2026, a significant advance that transforms ephemeral magnetic waves, known as magnons, into robust carriers of quantum information. This innovation brings closer the possibility of developing compact quantum computers, with the potential to be as small as a coin. The researchers managed to increase the lifetime of these magnons by almost 100 times, to up to 18 microseconds, and revealed that the main barrier to their longevity does not lie in fundamental laws of physics, but in the purity of the material. This data is crucial as it suggests that future improvements can come from more efficient manufacturing processes, rather than requiring new theoretical discoveries.
The team of physicists managed to overcome a major challenge in the area of quantum computing by drastically extending the durability of magnons, magnetic waves capable of carrying quantum data. The lifetime, which was previously just a few hundred nanoseconds, has been extended to an impressive 18 microseconds. This progress promises to pave the way for the creation of ultra-compact quantum computers, with a size comparable to that of a coin.
The international research, coordinated by Andrii Chumak, from the University of Vienna, revealed a key point: the longevity of magnons is not limited by intrinsic physical principles, but rather by the quality of the medium in which they propagate. The detailed results of this investigation were published in the renowned journal Science Advances.
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Understanding what magnons are
Magnons represent tiny waves of magnetization that travel through solid magnetic materials. They can be visualized as the ripples that form on the surface of a lake after the impact of a stone. Unlike photons, which travel through a vacuum or optical fibers, magnons remain contained within specific magnetic materials.
Considering that their wavelengths can be reduced to a few nanometers, magnon-based technology could be implemented in chips with dimensions similar to those found in smartphones. Furthermore, magnons naturally interact with other essential quasiparticles, such as phonons and photons, which makes them ideal components for building hybrid quantum systems and for applications in quantum metrology.
Unraveling the question of the durability of magnons
For many years, one of the main obstacles to the application of magnons in technology was their extremely short useful life. Given their ability to persist for just a few hundred nanoseconds, these elements dissipated quickly, preventing the reliable storage or transfer of quantum information.
The recent study changes this panorama considerably. By increasing the durability of magnons to up to 18 microseconds, scientists have transformed these once-transient signals into stable carriers of quantum information. Current performance aligns with the temporal requirements for viable quantum technologies, placing magnons at a level comparable to that of superconducting qubits used in cutting-edge quantum processors available today.
Methods employed to achieve progress
The crucial breakthrough was achieved through the strategic combination of two fundamental methodologies.
First, instead of using conventional uniform magnons, the team chose to generate short-wavelength magnons. These are intrinsically less susceptible to small imperfections on the surface of the crystals, which, in past experiments, were responsible for reducing the useful life of the magnons.
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Second, the researchers employed cooling ultra-high purity yttrium iron garnet (YIG) beads to a minimum temperature of 30 millikelvin, inside a mixed-phase cryostat. In these extreme conditions, close to absolute zero, the thermal processes that would normally degrade magnons are effectively inhibited.
The influence of the material on performance limitation
One of the most surprising revelations of the research was the identification of the real cause that currently restricts the longevity of magnons.
When carrying out tests with three YIG spheres that had different degrees of purity, scientists observed an unambiguous pattern. The greater the purity of the crystal, the longer the magnons were able to maintain their existence. Even the sample with the lowest purity surpassed all results obtained in previous experiments.
These findings indicate that future progress will depend primarily on improvements in materials science rather than overcoming some immutable natural law. With the development of increasingly pure magnetic materials, the expectation is that the useful life of magnons will continue to be improved.
Implications of the advance towards quantum computing
With a durability that reaches 18 microseconds, magnons transcend the function of mere temporary signals. They become capable of operating as reliable quantum memory devices and low-loss communication channels capable of transferring quantum information across a chip.
The researchers suggest that magnons could in the future connect hundreds of qubits through a shared path, establishing a much-desired “quantum bus” that would facilitate the scalability of future quantum computers. Given their natural interaction with various quantum systems, magnons could also function as universal translators, allowing collaboration between technologies that would normally not be able to communicate.
This study was based on experiments conducted by Rostyslav Serha during his doctorate. The project was led by the University of Vienna, in partnership with the University of Colorado, in Colorado Springs, and with research institutions located in Germany, the United States and Ukraine. Co-author Kaitlin McAllister participated through the Vienna Doctoral School of Physics, which offers internship opportunities for high-performing master’s students from around the world.