MIT researchers, in collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, have developed a technique to precisely move tens of thousands of individual atoms within a material's 3D atomic lattice in minutes at room temperature. Using algorithms to direct an electron beam with picometer precision, they created over 40,000 quantum defects in a crystalline semiconductor (chromium sulfide bromide) in about 40 minutes. Unlike existing methods limited to 2D surface manipulation under ultracold vacuum conditions, this approach works inside materials, making defects more stable and usable outside lab settings. The technique could enable programmable matter and advance quantum computers, magnetic memory, and atomic-scale logic devices.
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