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Quantum( SENSING) leap
Quantum( sensing) leap:
Pushing the technology readiness of Nitrogen-Vacancy sensors in Europe forward
Nitrogen Vacancy centers in diamond interact with local magnetic and electric fields, temperature, strain, and pressure. Their ease of operation and exceptional performance has led to the emergence of a first generation of commercial NV-based quantum sensors, as scanning-probe systems, giving them wide recognition as the quantum technology with the most imminent market potential. In recent years, there is an effort to advance the TRL of those quantum technologies through several European initiatives.
https:// doi. org / 10.1051 / photon / 202513128
Paolo TRAINA 1, *, Ivo Pietro DEGIOVANNI 1, Marco GRAMEGNA 1, Xavier VIDAL 2, and Guillermo GIL 2
1
INRIM, Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica. Strada delle cacce 91, I-10135 Torino( Italy)
2
TECNALIA, Basque Research and Technology Alliance( BRTA). Parque Científico y Tecnológico de Bizkaia. Astondo Bidea, Edificio 700. E-48160 Derio – Bizkaia( Spain)
* p. traina @ inrim. it
In the 1966 sci-fi movie Fantastic Voyage a submarine full of scientists is miniaturized and injected into the body of a critically ill diplomat in a rush to selectively destroy an embolus in his brain before his death. Even if scientists’ miniaturization remains science fiction territory, there is great interest to investigate in the micro / nano scale and to probe extremely local properties of small systems such as living cells and / or nanodevices.
Among the most prominent new-generation sub-microscale sensors, the Nitrogen-Vacancy( NV) center in diamond [ 1 ] has emerged as extremely promising candidate for measuring very small fields( as in the case of bulk sensors) or for detecting signals with high spatial resolution( e. g. with nanodiamonds).
An NV center is a point defect in a diamond crystal where a nitrogen atom replaces a carbon atom next to a vacancy. These defects exhibit unique quantum properties, including long-lived spin states that can be manipulated and measured with high precision, even at room temperature.
NV centers are particularly valuable for detecting magnetic fields [ 2 ], electric fields [ 3 ], temperature [ 4 ], and even pressure at the nanoscale. Their interaction with external fields, such as magnetic or electric, alters the properties of their electronic spins, which can be measured using techniques like Optically Detected Magnetic Resonance( ODMR). This allows NV centers to act as highly sensitive sensors for magnetic resonance imaging( MRI), magnetic field mapping, and even biosensing.
Some of the most significant advantages of NV centers is their robustness and photostability. These properties make NV centers suitable for applications in quantum computing, materials science, biology, and environmental monitoring. Their potential for precise, non-invasive measurements at the nanoscale positions NV centers as a promising tool in advancing both scientific research and practical technologies.
Thermometry
NV sensors have proven to be versatile and game-changing in advanced applications such as magnetometry, thermometry, imaging, electric field and strain sensing. As an example of the potential of those quantum objects, we will describe here a recent experiment of intracellular thermometry performed at Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica( INRIM) in Torino( Italy), in collaboration with the Universtiy of Turin and Charles University in Prague( Czechia) [ 5 ].
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