_version_ 1866908793108955136
author Zheng, Tian-Xing
Utama, M. Iqbal Bakti
Gao, Xingyu
Kar, Moumita
Yu, Xiaofei
Kang, Sungsu
Cai, Hanyan
Ruan, Tengyang
Ovetsky, David
Zvi, Uri
Lao, Guanming
Wang, Yu-Xin
Raz, Omri
Chitransh, Sanskriti
Smith, Grant T.
Weiss, Leah R.
Czyz, Magdalena H.
Yang, Shengsong
Fairhall, Alex J.
Watanabe, Kenji
Taniguchi, Takashi
Awschalom, David D.
Alivisatos, A. Paul
Goldsmith, Randall H.
Schatz, George C.
Hersam, Mark C.
Maurer, Peter C.
author_facet Zheng, Tian-Xing
Utama, M. Iqbal Bakti
Gao, Xingyu
Kar, Moumita
Yu, Xiaofei
Kang, Sungsu
Cai, Hanyan
Ruan, Tengyang
Ovetsky, David
Zvi, Uri
Lao, Guanming
Wang, Yu-Xin
Raz, Omri
Chitransh, Sanskriti
Smith, Grant T.
Weiss, Leah R.
Czyz, Magdalena H.
Yang, Shengsong
Fairhall, Alex J.
Watanabe, Kenji
Taniguchi, Takashi
Awschalom, David D.
Alivisatos, A. Paul
Goldsmith, Randall H.
Schatz, George C.
Hersam, Mark C.
Maurer, Peter C.
contents Fluorescent spin qubits are central building blocks of quantum technologies. Placing these qubits at surfaces maximizes coupling to nearby spins and fields, enabling nanoscale sensing and facilitating integration with photonic and superconducting devices. However, reducing the dimensions or size of established qubit systems without sacrificing the qubit performance or degrading the coherence lifetime remains challenging. Here, we introduce a surface molecular qubit formed by pentacene molecules scaffolded on a two-dimensional (2D) material, hexagonal boron nitride (hBN). The qubit exhibits stable fluorescence and optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) from cryogenic to ambient conditions. With fully deuterated pentacene, the Hahn-echo coherence reaches 22 $μ$s and further extends to 214 $μ$s under dynamical decoupling, outperforming state-of-the-art shallow NV centers in diamond, despite being positioned directly on the surface. We map the local spin environment, resolving couplings to nearby nuclear and electron spins that can serve as auxiliary quantum resources. This platform combines true surface integration, long qubit coherence, and scalable fabrication, opening routes to quantum sensing, quantum simulation, and hybrid quantum devices. It also paves the way for a broader family of 2D material-supported molecular qubits.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_19976
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A Surface-Scaffolded Molecular Qubit
Zheng, Tian-Xing
Utama, M. Iqbal Bakti
Gao, Xingyu
Kar, Moumita
Yu, Xiaofei
Kang, Sungsu
Cai, Hanyan
Ruan, Tengyang
Ovetsky, David
Zvi, Uri
Lao, Guanming
Wang, Yu-Xin
Raz, Omri
Chitransh, Sanskriti
Smith, Grant T.
Weiss, Leah R.
Czyz, Magdalena H.
Yang, Shengsong
Fairhall, Alex J.
Watanabe, Kenji
Taniguchi, Takashi
Awschalom, David D.
Alivisatos, A. Paul
Goldsmith, Randall H.
Schatz, George C.
Hersam, Mark C.
Maurer, Peter C.
Quantum Physics
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Materials Science
Fluorescent spin qubits are central building blocks of quantum technologies. Placing these qubits at surfaces maximizes coupling to nearby spins and fields, enabling nanoscale sensing and facilitating integration with photonic and superconducting devices. However, reducing the dimensions or size of established qubit systems without sacrificing the qubit performance or degrading the coherence lifetime remains challenging. Here, we introduce a surface molecular qubit formed by pentacene molecules scaffolded on a two-dimensional (2D) material, hexagonal boron nitride (hBN). The qubit exhibits stable fluorescence and optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) from cryogenic to ambient conditions. With fully deuterated pentacene, the Hahn-echo coherence reaches 22 $μ$s and further extends to 214 $μ$s under dynamical decoupling, outperforming state-of-the-art shallow NV centers in diamond, despite being positioned directly on the surface. We map the local spin environment, resolving couplings to nearby nuclear and electron spins that can serve as auxiliary quantum resources. This platform combines true surface integration, long qubit coherence, and scalable fabrication, opening routes to quantum sensing, quantum simulation, and hybrid quantum devices. It also paves the way for a broader family of 2D material-supported molecular qubits.
title A Surface-Scaffolded Molecular Qubit
topic Quantum Physics
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.19976