Technique - (24) NV-center magnetometry

Type: Experimental

Description: DC/AC magnetic field sensing via ODMR of nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond.

Department(s)/lab(s): Physics | Lukin Group @ Harvard
Summary:

Lukin's group is a leading center for quantum science built on NV- and SiV-center diamond spin qubits, neutral-atom (Rydberg) tweezer arrays, and hybrid quantum networks, spanning quantum sensing, quantum information processing, and many-body physics. This work builds directly on the lineage of NV ensemble quantum sensing experiments (DEER, nanoscale NMR, T1 relaxometry) that first reached pT/√Hz-class magnetic sensitivities, which Lukin's own group helped pioneer and continues to extend toward nuclear-spin-register-based nanoscale NMR and distributed sensor networks.

Department(s)/lab(s): PME | Maurer Lab @ UChicago
Summary:

Develops quantum sensing platforms at the biology interface. Core NV-center work: (1) widefield NV magnetic imaging of action potentials in neurons and cardiac tissue; (2) NV-based single-molecule NMR at 14 T resolving molecular structure with single-molecule sensitivity; (3) charge-sensitive shallow NV nanoprobes monitoring real-time cellular electrophysiology; (4) biocompatible diamond surface functionalization enabling multiplexed DNA microarray biosensing; (5) fluorescent-protein spin qubits as biological alternatives to diamond NV (2025 paper, Physics World Top-10 Breakthrough). Runs full NV stack: hot implantation, widefield and confocal ODMR, T1/T2/Hahn echo/DEER/Rabi, automated fitting pipelines. 2026 Sloan Fellow. PhD Lukin/Harvard; postdoc Chu/Stanford. Argonne joint appointment.

Department(s)/lab(s): Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Physics | Park Group @ Harvard
Summary:

Park's group works at the interface of physics, chemistry, and neuroscience, developing nanowire- and nanoelectrode-based intracellular electrophysiology probes as well as NV-diamond quantum sensing platforms (often in collaboration with Lukin), building on the same NV ensemble quantum-sensing lineage (DEER, nanoscale NMR, T1 relaxometry, pT/√Hz sensitivity) while also pushing nanoscale bioelectronic recording.

Department(s)/lab(s): LKB / Physics, Sorbonne UniversitΓ© | Atom Chips Group (Reichel/LKB) @ ENS Paris
Summary:

Jakob Reichel (Professor, LKB Atom Chips) leads work on fiber Fabry-Perot microcavities for atom-light quantum interfaces and miniaturised sensors. Research: (1) fiber Fabry-Perot microcavities β€” sub-micron mirrors on fibre tips enabling strong single-atom coupling; integrated directly into atom chips; (2) TACC (Trapped Atom Clock on a Chip) β€” Rb atom clock with 5.8Γ—10⁻¹³/βˆšΟ„ stability; ERC Advanced grant EQUEMI; (3) Sr optical-lattice cavity QED with quantum metrology; (4) MIREGA spinout β€” miniature portable greenhouse gas analyser combining FFP microcavities with telecom fibre optics for drone mounting; ERC Proof-of-Concept grant; (5) Rubidium CQED 'Sarocema' β€” individually addressable atom-tweezer array in fibre cavity for quantum simulation with long-range cavity-mediated interactions.

Department(s)/lab(s): Physics / LuMIn (ENS Paris-Saclay / Paris-Saclay) | Quantum Sensors with NV Centers (Roch Group, LuMIn) @ Paris-Saclay
Summary:

Jean-FranΓ§ois Roch (Professor at ENS Paris-Saclay, LuMIn) is a world leader in NV-center diamond quantum sensors. Research: (1) NV center magnetometry β€” scalar and vector magnetic field sensing with ensembles and single NV spins; (2) NV centers in diamond anvil cells for high-pressure magnetometry (world record 240 GPa); (3) joint laboratory (JRL) with Thales R&T on industrial NV quantum sensors; (4) color centres in hBN. IUF Senior Member 2021; JaffΓ© Prize + Berthelot Medal 2024.

Department(s)/lab(s): School of Physics | Quantum Imaging and Sensing Laboratory (Simpson) @ UMelb
Summary:

Simpson runs the experimental quantum imaging and sensing laboratory at Melbourne and is the closest match at this institution to a bio-oriented NV sensing postdoc. Two active threads: (i) widefield NV magnetic and spin-relaxation imaging of living cells and tissue, including magnetic imaging of magnetotactic bacteria, cellular free radicals and paramagnetic ion transport, and quantum-probe imaging of neuronal activity; and (ii) engineering Australia's most sensitive diamond vector magnetometer with RMIT and Phasor Innovation, aimed at navigation, underground/undersea sensing and, explicitly, mapping magnetic signals of the human brain in unshielded environments. That second thread is a direct bid at bioelectromagnetism with a quantum sensor. 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€” Simpson's work is a continuation of exactly that lineage, pushing ensemble DEER/T1-relaxometry contrast mechanisms out of the physics lab and into cell biology and human-scale magnetoencephalography. Preferred attributes present: bioelectromagnetism, human-subject ambitions, sensitivity-limited (not fabrication-limited) programme. QUBIC investigator; recruits postdocs regularly.

Department(s)/lab(s): QuTech / Applied Sciences | Taminiau Lab β€” NV Centers and Spin Quantum Networks (QuTech) @ TU Delft
Summary:

Tim Taminiau (QuTech team leader, Assoc Prof) develops NV-center quantum registers for sensing and quantum networks. Research: (1) NV-center nuclear spin registers β€” quantum control of up to 50 coupled 13C nuclear spins; (2) nanoscale NMR sensing β€” mapping external spin networks with sub-nm resolution; (3) silicon-carbide spin qubits β€” VSi centres for scalable quantum networks with fast entanglement rates; (4) quantum error correction in multi-spin diamond registers. NWO Vici Grant 2026. Quadrupolar nuclear spin spectroscopy of individual nuclei (Nano Letters 2024). Key for sensing proteins at nanoscale.

Department(s)/lab(s): Physics | LuMIn - NV & Nanodiamond Biosensing (Treussart) @ ENSPS
Summary:

Treussart uses fluorescent nanodiamonds (NV centres) as photostable bio-probes: intracellular single-particle tracking, nanoscale thermometry/magnetometry, and multimodal biosensing in cells and organisms, alongside super-resolution imaging - a direct NV-ensemble-to-biology bridge. In the broader landscape of NV-centre ensemble quantum sensing (DEER, nano-NMR, T1 relaxometry) operating near pT/sqrt(Hz) sensitivity, this work is applied here to living cells via nanodiamond probes.

Department(s)/lab(s): Quantum Nanoscience | Van der Sar Lab @ TU Delft
Summary:

Toeno van der Sar's group uses NV-centre diamond magnetometry to study correlated spin dynamics and electric currents in magnetic and 2D materials. Research directions: (1) scanning NV magnetometry of topological magnets, 2D magnetic materials (CrI3, Fe3GeTe2), and superconductors; (2) spin-wave (magnon) spectroscopy in magnetic thin films using NV sensors; (3) widefield NV imaging of biological samples and materials. The group develops both NV scanning probes and widefield NV ensembles for nanoscale spatial mapping of magnetic phenomena.

Department(s)/lab(s): School of Physics | Wood Diamond Magnetometry Group @ UMelb
Summary:

Wood works on NV centres in physically rotating diamond, a niche he essentially created: by spinning the crystal at tens of kHz he has demonstrated spin-rotation coupling, geometric phases and rotationally-induced pseudo-fields on NV ensembles, and used the rotating frame as a resource for noise-averaging and for gyroscopy. The group also works on conventional bulk NV magnetometry, dynamical decoupling sequence design and nuclear-spin bath engineering. 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 rotating-frame protocols are a direct attempt to extend the DEER/T1-relaxometry toolbox β€” normally applied to static ensembles at pT/sqrt(Hz) β€” into a regime where the sensor itself is in motion, with obvious relevance to inertial sensing and to averaging away static field gradients. Early-career PI, smaller group; a good option for a candidate wanting substantial independence.