Summary

The objective of this cross-sectional project is that, as part of the SFB, we have a multidisciplinary expert team in the area of sensing and spectroscopy. The team’s expertise includes, as a major constituent, quantum sensing based on color centers in diamond, but it goes significantly beyond that, extending to areas likeultrafast nonlinear optical spectroscopy and ultrasensitive atomic magnetometry, among others. In the course of the preliminary work on the SFB proposal, we have identified a number of specific characterization challenges across the range of SFB subprojects that the Q01 expert team will help address in close collaboration with the individual subproject teams.

The Q01 expertise consists of the following techniques and topics:

•  Nonlinear optical spectroscopy techniques that can probe properties and ultrafast dynamics of electronic and vibrational modes. These methods can, for instance be used to optically characterize properties of nanodiamonds (NDs) like size and surface functionalization. Here, group leader Ronald Ulbricht as the principal investigator brings expertise in using ultrafast electronic spectroscopy techniques such as transient absorption spectroscopy and THz time-domain spectroscopy to, for instance, characterize electronic dynamics of color centers in diamond (1 – 3). The department also operates a range of nonlinear optical spectroscopy techniques to characterize vibrational properties such as Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman (CARS) spectroscopy and Sum-Frequency Generation (SFG) spectroscopy (4, 5) that will be employed.
• AG Budker provides expertise in the broad area of ultrasensitive electromagnetic sensing, with extensive expertise in diamond magnetometry, electric field sensing, thermometry and molecular-force measurements (6 – 10).
• Expertise in ND sensing as applied to biological systems and surface functionalization of NDs.

[1] Liu, A.; Cundiff, S.T.; Almeida, D.B.; Ulbricht, R.; Spectral Broadening and Ultrafast Dynamics of a Nitrogen-Vacancy Center Ensemble in Diamond. Materials for Quantum Technologies 2021, 1, 025002

[2] Ulbricht, R.; Dong, S.; Chang, I.-Y.; Mariserla, B. M. K.; Dani, K. M.; Hyeon-Deuk, K.; Loh, Z.-H.; Jahn-Teller-induced femtosecond electronic depolarization dynamics of the nitrogen-vacancy defect in diamond. Nature Communications, 2016, 7, 13510

[3] Ulbricht, R.; Hendry, E.; Shan, J.; Heinz, T. F.; Bonn, M.Carrier dynamics in semiconductors studied with time-resolved Terahertz spectroscopy; Reviews of Modern Physics 2011, 83, 543

[4] Hosseinpour, S.; Roeters, S. J.; Bonn, M.; Peukert, W.; Woutersen, S.; Weidner, T. Structure and Dynamics of Interfacial Peptides and Proteins from Vibrational Sum-Frequency Generation Spectroscopy. Chem. Rev., 2020, 120 (7), 3420-3465.

[5] Day, J. P.; Domke, K. F.; Rago, G.; Kano, H.; Hamaguchi, H.-o.; Vartiainen, E. M.; Bonn, M.; Quantitative coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy.J. Phys. Chem  B, 2011, 115 (24), 7713-7725.

[6] Acosta, V.; Jarmola, A.; Bauch, E.; Budker, D. Optical properties of the nitrogen-vacancy singlet levels in diamond. Phys. Rev. B 2010, 82 (20), 201202.

[7] Bourgeois, E.; Jarmola, A.; Siyushev, P.; Gulka, M.; Hruby, J.; Jelezko, F.; Budker, D.; Nesladek, M.Photoelectric detection of electron spin resonance of nitrogen-vacancy centres in diamond. Nat. Commun. 2015, 6 (1), 1-8.

[8] Wickenbrock, A.; Zheng, H.; Bougas, L.; Leefer, N.; Afach, S.; Jarmola, A.; Acosta, V. M.; Budker, D.; Microwave-free magnetometry with nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond. Appl. Phys. Lett., 2016,109(5), 053505.

[9] Zhang, X.; Chatzidrosos, G.; Hu, Y.; Zheng, H.; Wickenbrock, A.; Jerschow, A.; Budker, D.; Battery characterization via eddy-current imaging with nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond; Appl. Sci., 2021, 11(7), 3069

[10] Lenz, T.; Wickenbrock, A.; Jelezko, F.; Balasubramanian, G.; Budker, D.; Magnetic sensing at zero field with a single nitrogen-vacancy center, Quantum Science and Technology, 2021, 6(3), 034006