Nanotechnology Now – Press Release: Precision cut diamond: University of Illinois to develop diamond sensors for neutron experiments and quantum information science
Home > Press > Diamond cut precision: University of Illinois to develop diamond sensors for neutron experiments and quantum information science
| Artist rendering illustrating a diamond nitrogen vacancy sensor to be developed by Beck’s group. The internal grid lines represent the path of laser light inside the diamond—the incoming light (thicker red line) is repeatedly reflected inside the diamond sensor until it meets a corner cut where it appeared (thinner red line). Image by Yasmine Steele for Illinois Physics CREDIT The Grainger College of Engineering at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign |
Abstract:
A group of nuclear physicists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign are looking for evidence of new physics in the neutron, the electrically neutral particle that holds the atomic nucleus together by an interaction called the strong force. Faculty and researchers are participating in an nEDM experiment at Oak Ridge National Laboratory that will measure the neutron’s electric dipole moment, a property that allows a neutron to interact with an electric field even when it is neutral. Precise measurements will limit the theory that extends the current standard model of particle physics. To achieve this, researchers must accurately measure subtle changes in very strong electric fields.
Diamond cut precision: University of Illinois to develop diamond sensors for neutron experiments and quantum information science
Urbana, IL | Posted April 14, 2023
Physics Professor Douglas Beck has won a grant from the Department of Energy to develop a sensor based on nitrogen vacancy diamonds, a material whose quantum properties at low temperatures make it highly sensitive to electric fields. His research group has shown that the material can measure strong electric fields, and the award will allow researchers to build sensors ready for use in nEDM experiments. Moreover, the quantum properties of materials make them promising candidates for quantum information science. The researchers will also explore this potential application.
Beck explains that chemically added nitrogen vacancies, or NV, impurities give diamond an unusual electric field sensitivity. “These impurities are areas with extra nitrogen atoms and holes (or vacancies) where carbon atoms would normally be,” he says. “When matter is cooled to less than 20 degrees above absolute zero, the impurities form a quantum system that responds to an electric field. This is an unusual characteristic in that not many systems respond to electric fields, and that makes NV diamonds special.”
NV systems can be made even more sensitive when prepared in certain quantum states. Instead of letting the system remain in its lowest energy state after they’ve cooled it, the researchers form a quantum superposition of the lowest and next lowest energy states called the dark state, so named because it doesn’t interact with light. “In a sense, the name is meant to indicate that it is immune to interactions with the environment,” said Beck. “Because it is long lived, it has a very sharp energy that accurately tells us how big the electric field is.”
Beck’s group has shown that this phenomenon allows the NV diamond to measure strong electric fields, and the award will allow researchers to develop reliable and robust sensors based on that. This would involve packing sensors into a ready-to-connect unit with the laser used to control them and minimize the effects of background noise. They are also investigating a quantum technique called dynamic decoupling that will enable them to effectively reverse the effects of experimental imperfections, according to Beck. This will make already accurate electric field measurements even more accurate.
Another aim of this research is to explore the proposal of using NV diamonds in quantum information science. Its longevity and darkness resistance to environmental noise make it a promising platform for quantum sensing and quantum memory. Many such applications depend on placing a quantum system in a squeezed state that has the minimum uncertainty allowed by the Heisenberg principle. There have been several proposals to create a wedge condition in the NV diamond, and Beck’s group will be surveying the feasibility.
This work will be supported by $650,000 over three years provided by the Quantum Horizons initiative within the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Physics program.
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Contact:
Cassandra Smith
University of Illinois Grainger College of Engineering
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