Description: Optical readout of spin-state-dependent fluorescence contrast; core NV readout method.
AtatΓΌre leads the ~30-person QOMS group at the Cavendish. Three main thrusts: (1) Spin-based quantum networks β demonstrating distant entanglement generation and photonic cluster states using semiconductor quantum dots (InGaAs, GaAs) and diamond spin defects (NV, SiV, SnV), including a many-body nuclear-spin quantum register demonstrated in 2025 (Nature Physics); (2) Quantum-enhanced nanoscale sensing β scanning NV diamond magnetometry of emergent magnetism in novel 2D/layered materials and quantum transport in nanocircuits, plus nanodiamond-based in-cell sensing (nanoMRI, thermometry, diffusion in C. elegans); (3) Novel quantum materials β hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) optically-active spin defects at room temperature, and moirΓ© physics in TMD heterostructures. He is co-founder and CSO of Nu Quantum Ltd.
Pioneer in spintronics and quantum information engineering. Research spans: (1) NV-center spin qubits in diamond for quantum sensing and communication including nanomagnetic imaging; (2) spin defects in SiC and Er-doped hosts for quantum network nodes at telecom wavelengths; (3) molecular and protein-based spin qubits (2025 fluorescent-protein spin qubit, Physics World Top-10); (4) coherent Er spin defects in colloidal nanocrystal hosts (2024, with Alivisatos). Founding Director Chicago Quantum Exchange. Joint Senior Scientist Argonne. Large infrastructure-rich group with strong industry ties (IBM, Intel, Google quantum).
Breeze is a senior research fellow at UCL working on room-temperature solid-state masers. Research directions: (1) Pentacene maser β first demonstration of a room-temperature, continuous-wave solid-state maser (Science 2018) using photoexcited triplet-state pentacene in p-terphenyl crystal; achieving amplification with noise temperature near 1 K; (2) Diamond NV maser β developing NV-center-based maser for ultra-low-noise microwave amplification at room temperature, relevant to quantum sensing readout chains; (3) Maser applications β quantum-limited amplification for dark matter searches, MRI signal amplification, and quantum communication repeaters; (4) Spin dynamics β understanding triplet-state dynamics in organic crystals for spin polarization control. Strong relevance to quantum-limited microwave sensing.
PREFERRED. Cappellaro pioneered quantum magnetic sensing with electronic spin defects (NV centers) in diamond, and her group designs and controls solid-state spin qubit systems for quantum sensing, simulation, and quantum information processing, combining theoretical insight into spin dynamics with experimental control of dynamical decoupling and nuclear-spin registers for nanoscale NMR. This builds on the broader lineage of NV ensemble quantum sensing (DEER, NMR, T1 relaxometry) that has pushed AC/DC magnetic sensitivities toward the pT/sqrt(Hz) regime, which her group's Hamiltonian-engineering and nuclear-spin-register approaches aim to extend further.
Choi builds large-scale, individually addressable arrays of solid-state spin qubits (NV centers and related defects) and entangles ancilla nuclear/electronic spins to demonstrate high-precision, entanglement-enhanced quantum sensing, extending the ensemble NV magnetometry regime (DEER/T1 protocols at pT/βHz) toward single- and few-spin sensors with quantum-error-corrected readout.
Degen leads the Spin Physics and Imaging group, one of the world's leading NV-center magnetometry labs. Research directions (as of 2025): (1) Scanning NV magnetometry of quantum materials β NV-tipped cantilevers image current flow (β²50 nm resolution) in graphene heterostructures and resolve domain walls in antiferromagnets/ferroelectrics; cryogenic scanning down to 350 mK in dilution refrigerator (published Appl. Phys. Lett. 2022). (2) Single-molecule NMR β shallow NV centers detect nuclear spins from surface-adsorbed molecules with sub-nanometer 3D resolution; 2022 Nano Lett. on amine-functionalized diamond surfaces; exploring chirality-induced spin selectivity at few-molecule level. (3) NV magnetometry protocols β reconstruction-free waveform sensing (1.1 ns time resolution, Nature 2025), gradiometric detection, spectrum demodulation for rapid scanning, multi-NV addressing. (4) Diamond nanoengineering β multicone pillar waveguides, surface engineering, scanning probe fabrication. ERC Proof-of-Concept 2025 for photonic IC single-photon NV excitation/detection for commercial quantum sensing.
Galland leads LQNO at EPFL investigating light-matter interactions in nano-structures and the quantum regime. Research directions: (1) NV centers in diamond for quantum sensing β spectroscopy of NV spin states in ultra-thin diamond membranes, development of diamond nanophotonic platforms for enhanced sensing sensitivity; collaboration on quantum sensing with color centers; (2) Plasmonic nanocavities β few-nm gap junctions enhance Raman scattering by Γ10^9, enabling single-molecule vibrational spectroscopy and coherent control; ultrafast and single-photon detection of coherent phonon dynamics; (3) 2D heterostructure photonics β entangled photon pair generation enhanced by TMD heterostructures; valley-polarized exciton sources; (4) Optical frequency conversion for quantum applications. SNSF-funded professor, internationally recognized for molecular optomechanics and carbon nanotube quantum optics.
Hemmer pioneered NV-diamond spin sensing and super-resolution with spin defects, working on coherent control, photonic integration of NV sensors, and diamond-based magnetometry/imaging bridging physics and engineering. In the broader landscape of NV-centre ensemble quantum sensing (DEER, nano-NMR, T1 relaxometry) operating near pT/sqrt(Hz) sensitivity, this work is directly in the NV ensemble sensing lineage, emphasizing photonic integration and super-resolution readout.
Hollenberg is the intellectual centre of gravity for diamond quantum sensing in Australia: a theorist-turned-programme-leader whose group develops NV-based quantum probes for biological systems and quantum-computing architectures in silicon and diamond. Current directions include the quantum-probe hyperspectral microscope, in which NV ensembles in a bulk diamond substrate report magnetic and spin-noise contrast from cells cultured directly on the surface; nanodiamond quantum probes for intracellular relaxometry and free-radical detection; theory of decoherence-based sensing (T1 relaxometry as a chemical-specificity channel rather than a nuisance); and single-cell magnetic resonance. He co-leads the Melbourne node of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Quantum Biotechnology (QUBIC) with Simpson and Hinde, which is explicitly chartered to build quantum sensors for live biology, including portable brain imagers. Positioned against the established body of NV-ensemble quantum sensing work β DEER, nanoscale NMR and T1 relaxometry protocols operating at pT/sqrt(Hz) field sensitivity β his programme is one of the small number worldwide that has carried those ensemble protocols all the way into cell culture and tissue rather than stopping at proof-of-principle magnetometry. Preferred attribute present: the group's emphasis is on sensitivity and biological specificity rather than device fabrication, and QUBIC funding runs to 2030 with recurring postdoc recruitment.
Knowles leads the Coherent Quantum Lab at the Cavendish Laboratory. Her research focuses on using NV centers in diamond as quantum sensors to probe matter at the nanoscale in two main thrusts: (1) nanoscale NMR / spin imaging β scanning-probe NV magnetometry of topological and unconventional magnets, Hamiltonian engineering in dense spin ensembles using global dynamical decoupling, and error-correction-enhanced sensor readout; (2) quantum biosensing in living systems β employing diamond nanocrystals functionalized for intracellular delivery to perform simultaneous nanothermometry and nanorheometry in single HeLa cells and C. elegans, using the Q-BiC integrated biocompatible chip platform. She co-leads CANSIS. The lab has a second new instrument running since mid-2025 for biosensing experiments.