Prof. Ania Bleszynski Jayich, University of California at Santa Barbara

"Quantum sensing and imaging with diamond spins"

Abstract: The nitrogen vacancy (NV) center in diamond is an excellent sensor of magnetic, electric, thermal, and strain fields on the nanoscale, and hence it is being actively explored for a wide variety of quantum sensing applications. By incorporating the NV center into a scanning probe microscope geometry, we have demonstrated a powerful tool for imaging nanoscale magnetism in condensed matter systems [1]. Here I discuss two novel functionalities of the NV center afforded by its unique nature as a quantum sensor. I present NV-based conductivity imaging on the nanoscale in a quantitative and noninvasive way [2]. We also extend recently developed NV sensing techniques to simultaneously probe both the nanoscale structure and fluctuation dynamics of skyrmions in a thin-film system. A grand challenge to improving the spatial resolution and magnetic sensitivity of the NV is mitigating surface-induced quantum decoherence, which I will discuss in the second part of this talk. These studies guide the ongoing development of quantum control and diamond surface preparation techniques, pushing towards the ultimate goal of NV-based single nuclear spin imaging.

[1] M. Pelliccione et al, Nature Nanotehcnology 11, 700 (2016)

[2] Ariyaratne et al, Nature Communications 9, 2406 (2018)