LAUSR

Point defects in wide-bandgap semiconductors have emerged as leading platforms for quantum information science and nanophotonics, but most research has concentrated on only a few defect systems and host materials. Building on recent success in harnessing select defects like the diamond nitrogen-vacancy center for quantum computing, quantum optics, magnetometry, and biosensing, an opportunity exists to identify systems in new materials that are optimized to improve the performance of applications like these, or that can enable entirely new avenues of research. Given the vast number of potential materials and defect systems, however, it remains a major challenge to theoretically predict and experimentally identify promising candidates in a systematic way. This special issue surveys the current understanding of optically-active semiconductor defects, highlighting new directions for research that harness the unique properties afforded by emerging materials. In October 2018, we organized an incubator meeting together with the Optical Society, which brought together scientists from around the world to discuss the following questions: