Sustainability Cost of Defect Engineering in Color Centers for Quantum Communications

Sustainability Cost of Defect Engineering in Color Centers for Quantum Communications | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Sustainability Cost of Defect Engineering in Color Centers for Quantum Communications Julie Schoenung, Sahar Shata This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7755251/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Quantum communication relies on hardware that distributes entanglement over long distances with stability and scalability. Color centers in diamond, silicon carbide (SiC), hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), gallium nitride (GaN), and zinc oxide (ZnO) are leading solid-state qubit platforms. Yet, their fabrication through ion implantation, electron beam irradiation, laser writing, and heteroepitaxial growth imposes substantial but unexamined sustainability costs. In this study, we construct inventories to evaluate twenty paired combinations of substrate and defect engineering techniques using a cradle-to-gate, multi-attribute framework that integrates life cycle assessment (LCA), chemical hazard assessment (CHA), and human health toxicity (HHT). Cumulative energy demand (CED), global warming potential (GWP), water use, and toxicological burden are quantified. Results show femtosecond laser writing in h-BN exhibits the lowest impacts across all metrics, with CED of < 0.1 GJ/chip, GWP < 20 kg CO2 eq., and near-zero CHA and HHT scores, 1–2 orders of magnitude lower than ion-implantation in diamond or SiC. Despite high performance, diamond and SiC impose ecological and human health burdens due to thermally intensive growth and hazardous post-defect stabilization chemistries. Laser writing in h-BN, ZnO, and GaN shows greener-by-design pathways, providing a roadmap for reducing environmental trade-offs in host crystals and advancing climate-aligned quantum communication infrastructure. Physical sciences/Energy science and technology/Energy infrastructure/Energy grids and networks Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences/Environmental impact Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files ColorcenterssupplementaryinformationShata.docx Supplementary Information Sustainability Cost of Defect Engineering in Color Centers for Quantum Communications Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7755251","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":541141418,"identity":"4764ba76-10b7-44ba-9343-c56c0e0ac1f2","order_by":0,"name":"Julie 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Color centers in diamond, silicon carbide (SiC), hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), gallium nitride (GaN), and zinc oxide (ZnO) are leading solid-state qubit platforms. Yet, their fabrication through ion implantation, electron beam irradiation, laser writing, and heteroepitaxial growth imposes substantial but unexamined sustainability costs. In this study, we construct inventories to evaluate twenty paired combinations of substrate and defect engineering techniques using a cradle-to-gate, multi-attribute framework that integrates life cycle assessment (LCA), chemical hazard assessment (CHA), and human health toxicity (HHT). Cumulative energy demand (CED), global warming potential (GWP), water use, and toxicological burden are quantified. Results show femtosecond laser writing in h-BN exhibits the lowest impacts across all metrics, with CED of \u003c 0.1 GJ/chip, GWP \u003c 20 kg CO2 eq., and near-zero CHA and HHT scores, 1–2 orders of magnitude lower than ion-implantation in diamond or SiC. Despite high performance, diamond and SiC impose ecological and human health burdens due to thermally intensive growth and hazardous post-defect stabilization chemistries. Laser writing in h-BN, ZnO, and GaN shows greener-by-design pathways, providing a roadmap for reducing environmental trade-offs in host crystals and advancing climate-aligned quantum communication infrastructure.","manuscriptTitle":"Sustainability Cost of Defect Engineering in Color Centers for Quantum Communications","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-11-10 04:51:07","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7755251/v1","editorialEvents":[],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"nature-communications","isNatureJournal":true,"hasQc":false,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"NCOMMS","sideBox":"Learn more about [Nature Communications](http://www.nature.com/ncomms/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://mts-ncomms.nature.com/","title":"Nature Communications","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"ejp","reportingPortfolio":"Nature Communications","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"152256ab-2e05-47d4-8028-66b014928552","owner":[],"postedDate":"November 10th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[{"id":57570759,"name":"Physical sciences/Energy science and technology/Energy infrastructure/Energy grids and networks"},{"id":57570760,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences/Environmental impact"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-08T22:40:12+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-11-10 04:51:07","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7755251","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7755251","identity":"rs-7755251","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}