Nanoscale imaging with NV centers in diamond
Coordinators : Vincent JACQUES, Isabelle ROBERT-PHILIP and Aurore FINCO
Quantum sensors exploit the extreme sensitivity of spins to external perturbations, allowing for exceptionally precise measurements of magnetic fields, electric fields, pressure, or temperature. Our team particularly uses NV centers in diamond to develop nanoscale, non-invasive, vector magnetic imaging, enabling the exploration of exotic magnetic textures in complex materials.
One main focus of our research leverages the unique capabilities of these sensors to study exotic magnetic textures in nanostructures and to address fundamental problems in condensed matter physics, both at room temperature and at low temperature, with a particular interest in antiferromagnetic, ferrimagnetic, and two-dimensional magnetic materials. Another research direction profits from the high versatility of NV centers , capable of simultaneously measuring multiple physical quantities on a single platform (magnetic field, electric field, magnetic noise), to open new opportunities for multi-parameter quantum imaging.
Some recent publications :
- Thermal spin wave noise as a probe for the Dzyaloshinkii-Moriya interaction, A. Finco, P. Kumar, V. T. Pham, J. Urrestarazu-Larrañaga, R. G. Garcia, M. Rollo, O. Boulle, J.-V. Kim and V. Jacques, Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 136703 (2025)
- Fast current-induced skyrmion motion in synthetic antiferromagnets, V. T. Pham, N. Sisodia, I. Di Manici, J. Urrestarazu-Larrañaga, K. Bairagi, J. Pelloux-Prayer, R. Guedas, L. D. Buda-Prejbeanu, S. Auffret, A. Locatelli, T. O. Menteş, S. Pizzini, P. Kumar, A. Finco, V. Jacques, G. Gaudin and O. Boulle, Science 384, 307 (2024)
- Single spin magnetometry and relaxometry applied to antiferromagnetic materials, A. Finco and V. Jacques, APL Materials, 11, 100901 (2023)
- Imaging Topological Defects in a Noncollinear Antiferromagnet, A. Finco, A. Haykal, S. Fusil, P. Kumar, P. Dufour, A. Forget, D. Colson, J.-Y. Chauleau, M. Viret, N. Jaouen, V. Garcia, and V. Jacques, Phys. Rev. Lett. 128, 187201 (2022)
- Imaging non-collinear antiferromagnetic textures via single spin relaxometry, A. Finco, A. Haykal, R. Tanos, F. Fabre, S. Chouaieb, W. Akhtar, I. Robert-Philip, W. Legrand, F. Ajejas, K. Bouzehouane, N. Reyren, T. Devolder, J.-P. Adam, J. V. Kim, V. Cros and V. Jacques, Nat Commun 12, 767 (2021)
- Characterization of room-temperature in-plane magnetization in thin flakes of CrTe2 with a single-spin magnetometer, F. Fabre, A. Finco, A. Purbawati, A. Hadj-Azzem, N. Rougemaille, J. Coraux, I. Philip, and V. Jacques, Phys. Rev. Materials 5, 034008 (2021)
Fundings :
This research activity is supported by the ERC project EXAFONIS, the European project TSAR, the France 2030 initiatives QuanTEdu-France, ALTEROSPIN, SPINCHARAC and 2D-MAG, and the ANR projects QUAMION and TATOO.