Bassett's lab approaches this challenge from a number of directions. recently, the lab developed a quantum platform based on two-dimensional (2-d) material called hexagonal boron nitride which, due to its extremely thin dimensions, allows for easier cess to electron spins. in the current study, the team returned to a 3-d material that contains natural imperfections with great potential for controlling electron spins: diamonds. small defects in diamonds, called nitrogen- vacancy (nv) centers, are known to harbor electron spins that can be manipulated at room temperature, unlike many other quantum systems that demand temperatures approaching absolute zero. each nv center emits light that provides information about the spin's quantum state. bassett explains why it is important to consider both 2-d and 3-d avenues in quantum technology: "the different material platforms are at different levels of development, and they will ultimately be useful for different applications. defects in 2-d materials are ideally suited for proximity sensing on surfaces, and they might eventually be good for other applications, such as integrated quantum photonic devices," bassett says. "right now, however, the diamond nv center is simply the best platform around for room- temperature quantum information processing. it is also a leading candidate for building large-scale quantum ii communication networks." so far, it has only been possible to achieve the combination of desirable quantum properties that are required for these demanding applications using nv centers embedded deep within bulk 3-d crystals of diamond.