Seeing the Invisible with Atomic Defects: Quantum Sensing using spin defects in Layered Crystals
Quantum sensors built from atomic-scale spin defects have transformed our ability to measure magnetic fields, temperature, and strain with nanoscale precision — the nitrogen-vacancy (NV-) center in diamond is the most celebrated example. In this talk, I will introduce a newer member of this family: the negatively charged boron vacancy (VB⁻) defect in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), a van der Waals layered material that can be thinned to a single atomic layer and integrated directly into two-dimensional heterostructures.
I will describe our group’s effort to develop VB⁻-based quantum sensing from the ground up — starting with the defects themselves and building toward a working sensing platform. Along the way, we encountered and addressed several fundamental challenges that limit this technology’s real-world performance: the intrinsically low photoluminescence quantum yield of VB⁻ that constrains optical readout sensitivity, the instability of the defect’s charge state under illumination and in different device environments, and the difficulty of delivering microwave fields efficiently to a sensing layer only atoms thick. I will present the engineering solutions we developed for each of these problems — including microwave delivery structures tailored to two-dimensional materials, strategies for stabilizing the defect’s charge state using engineered van der Waals interfaces, and approaches for enhancing both microwave and optical coupling to the sensing layer.
I will close by discussing where this technology is headed: opportunities to combine hBN spin defects with acoustic and electrical readout techniques, and what it will take to move from laboratory demonstrations toward practical quantum sensors for applications ranging from fundamental materials science to industrial sensing.
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- Gallalee Hall
- Tuscaloosa, Alabama
- United States
- Starts 10 September 2026 06:00 AM UTC
- Ends 16 September 2026 06:00 AM UTC
- No Admission Charge
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Seeing the Invisible with Atomic Defects: Quantum Sensing using spin defects in Layered Crystals
Quantum sensors built from atomic-scale spin defects have transformed our ability to measure magnetic fields, temperature, and strain with nanoscale precision — the nitrogen-vacancy (NV-) center in diamond is the most celebrated example. In this talk, I will introduce a newer member of this family: the negatively charged boron vacancy (VB⁻) defect in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), a van der Waals layered material that can be thinned to a single atomic layer and integrated directly into two-dimensional heterostructures.
I will describe our group’s effort to develop VB⁻-based quantum sensing from the ground up — starting with the defects themselves and building toward a working sensing platform. Along the way, we encountered and addressed several fundamental challenges that limit this technology’s real-world performance: the intrinsically low photoluminescence quantum yield of VB⁻ that constrains optical readout sensitivity, the instability of the defect’s charge state under illumination and in different device environments, and the difficulty of delivering microwave fields efficiently to a sensing layer only atoms thick. I will present the engineering solutions we developed for each of these problems — including microwave delivery structures tailored to two-dimensional materials, strategies for stabilizing the defect’s charge state using engineered van der Waals interfaces, and approaches for enhancing both microwave and optical coupling to the sensing layer.
I will close by discussing where this technology is headed: opportunities to combine hBN spin defects with acoustic and electrical readout techniques, and what it will take to move from laboratory demonstrations toward practical quantum sensors for applications ranging from fundamental materials science to industrial sensing.
Address:United States