Advanced Quantum Sensing with NanoDiamonds

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Fedor Jelezko
• Subject Area: Experimental Condensed Matter Physics ; Biophysics ; Solid State and Surface Chemistry, Material Synthesis
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 532771161

Diamond color centers have become a widely used platform for quantum technologies, including information processing, sensing and metrology, or photonics. It is due to their unique optical and spin properties, long coherence times, and robustness to the environmental noise. Nanodiamonds (NDs), which are diamond particles with sizes typically ranging from a few nanometers to a few hundred nanometers, have recently also gained considerable attention. NDs are non-toxic, compatible with various environments, their surface is easy to modify, and they can be integrated into microsystems easily. These properties make NDs a promising candidate for future applications in quantum sensing and biomedical imaging. AQuSeND project aims at the development of novel quantum sensing protocols tailored for use with NDs. Our goals is to enable multimodal sensing capabilities in these nanoscale materials that are already in use with bulk diamonds, and that will now vastly expand possible applications of NDs. To achieve this, the project will combine experimental and theoretical approaches to investigate the properties of such systems, improve NDs material properties and performance of the protocols used, and develop new range of their practical applications. This project is expected to significantly contribute to the advancement of quantum technologies and their applications by unlocking multimodal quantum sensing capabilities of NDs. It is an ambitious and interdisciplinary endeavor, with a potential for exciting breakthroughs. The greatest impact is expected in the fields of biophysics and medicine, where nanodiamonds can become sensors targeting the detection of specific biomolecules and giving detailed information about local nanoscale phenomena, offering a new, unparalleled diagnostic tool.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: France, Poland, Spain
• Partner Organisation: Agence Nationale de la Recherche / The French National Research Agency
• Cooperation Partners: Professor Javier Prior, Ph.D.; Professor Adam Wojciechowski, Ph.D.