14 DAY TRIAL // Investigators with the University of Cambridge say that quantum sensors for biocompatible materials may soon become a reality, thanks to a new study they have just completed. The team says the innovation could pave the way to numerous nanoscale applications.
The work was focused on very small diamond fragments that exhibited flaws called nitrogen-vacancy centers (NVC). By exploiting the magnetic momentum found in each such structure, the team was able to set the foundation for the development of a quantum nanosensor for multiple potential uses.
One possible application for the research would be the creation of extremely high-sensitivity sensors for use at the nanoscale. Another would be the creation of a device capable of conducting thermometry at the single-cell level.
Scientists hope that this breakthrough will also enable to development of miniaturized Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines, capable of producing magnetic images of single neurons in the human brain. Such a device would have monumental implications for the field of neurology.
The challenge in the new study was for researchers to achieve sufficient coherence between magnetic moments in NVC to enable practical applications. Each nitrogen-vacancy center traps electrons whose spins can be controlled with maximum accuracy through advanced methods.
In large-scale diamonds, electronic coherence in NVC has been achieved, but this goal has proven more than elusive for micro- and nanoscale diamond fragments. Scientists with the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge are the first team ever to achieve this objective.
“Our results unleash the potential of the smallest magnetic field and temperature detector in the world. Nanodiamond NVCs can sense the change of such features within a few tens of nanometres - no other sensor has ever had this spatial resolution under ambient conditions,” expert Helena Knowles says.
“We now have both high spin coherence and spatial resolution, crucial for various quantum technologies,” the Cambridge team member goes on to say. Details of the new investigation appear in the November 25 issue of the top scientific journal Nature Materials.
The investigation was led by Cavendish Laboratory's Department of Physics professor Dr. Mete Atature, from the Atomic, Mesoscopic and Optical Physics research group at Cambridge.