I-Corps: Quantum magnetometer

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发可以在环境条件下运行的低成本和超灵敏磁场传感器。目前的解决方案需要低温，这增加了传感器的成本和尺寸。基于固态缺陷的磁场传感器市场目前价值3亿美元，仅占更广泛的量子传感、磁测量和成像市场的20%，后者价值15亿美元。拟议的传感器技术可以用于医疗应用，在这些应用中，它们可以大幅降低诊断测试的成本；在工业环境中，它们可以提高机械的精度；在科学研究中，它们可以加速高科技发现的突破。这个i-Corps项目基于开发具有固态缺陷的超灵敏磁场传感器。拟议的基于钻石的量子磁力测量技术能够在环境条件下工作，并有可能超过目前磁场灵敏度的极限。它利用量子物理学的原理，利用晶体中原子大小的缺陷来进行磁场传感。与竞争对手的量子传感器相比，该系统的优势在于它能够在室温下工作，而不需要昂贵的捕获原子或分子的过程。所提出的技术平台是基于钻石中的氮空位(NV)中心。钻石中的这些缺陷是自然保护的，不受环境影响，可以在环境条件下运行。提出的技术引入了一种全新的读出技术，用于利用包括NV中心在内的晶体缺陷。这项技术消除了限制这些传感器性能的主要噪声源。此外，这些缺陷能够进行原子尺度的测量，这为材料科学研究开辟了新的途径。该项目基于广泛的实验研究，可能提供新一代超灵敏传感器，使新发现成为可能，并降低用于医疗、工业和科学应用的超灵敏磁场传感器的成本。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of low-cost and ultra-sensitive magnetic field sensors that can operate under ambient conditions. The current solutions require cryogenic temperatures, which increases both the cost and size of the sensor. The market for magnetic field sensors based on solid-state defects currently is valued at $300M, representing only 20% of the broader market of quantum sensing, magnetometry, and imaging, which is valued at $1.5B. The proposed sensor technology may be used in medical applications where they may substantially reduce the cost of diagnostic tests; in industrial settings where they may enhance the precision of machinery; and in scientific research where they may expedite breakthroughs in high-tech discoveries.This I-Corps project is based on the development of ultra-sensitive magnetic field sensors with solid-state defects. The proposed diamond-based quantum magnetometry technology is capable of operating in ambient conditions and has the potential to surpass the current limits of magnetic field sensitivity. It leverages principles from quantum physics to utilize atomic-size defects in crystals for magnetic field sensing. The advantage of this system over the competing quantum sensors is in its capability to operate at room temperature and not requiring the costly process of trapping atoms or molecules. The proposed technology platform is based on nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond. These defects in diamond are naturally protected from the environment and can operate in ambient conditions. The proposed technology introduces a fundamentally new readout technique for utilizing crystal defects including NV centers. This technique removes the main source of noise that limits the performance of these sensors. Moreover, these defects are capable of atomic scale measurements, which has opened new avenues in materials science research. This project is based on extensive experimental research and may provide a new generation of ultra-sensitive sensors that enable novel discoveries and lowers the cost of ultra-sensitive magnetic field sensors for medical, industrial, and scientific applications.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.