All-Optical Control of Electron Spin (IMAGE) University of Chicago Caption This artist's rendering shows all-optical control of an individual electronic spin within a diamond. This spin is associated with a naturally occurring defect in diamond known as the nitrogen-vacancy center, a promising quantum bit (qubit) for quantum information processing. The University of Chicago's David Awschalom and his associates have developed techniques to initialize, manipulate, and read out the electronic spin of this qubit using only pulses of light. Credit Peter Allen Usage Restrictions News organizations may use this image in connection with reports about the research of David Awschalom and his associates. License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.