Nanotube spin defects for omnidirectional magnetic field sensing

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 15; no. 1; pp. 7697 - 8
• Main Authors: Gao, Xingyu, Vaidya, Sumukh, Dikshit, Saakshi, Ju, Peng, Shen, Kunhong, Jin, Yuanbin, Zhang, Shixiong, Li, Tongcang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 04-09-2024; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 639/301/357/997; 639/624/400/3925; 639/766/483/1255; 639/925/927/356; Boron; Boron nitride; Color centers; Crystal defects; Crystals; Diamonds; External stimuli; Ground state; Humanities and Social Sciences; Magnetic fields; Magnetic measurement; Magnetic resonance; multidisciplinary; Nanotechnology; Nanotubes; Optically detected magnetic resonance; Room temperature; Science; Science (multidisciplinary)
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-51941-2

Optically addressable spin defects in three-dimensional (3D) crystals and two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) materials are revolutionizing nanoscale quantum sensing. Spin defects in one-dimensional (1D) vdW nanotubes will provide unique opportunities due to their small sizes in two dimensions and absence of dangling bonds on side walls. However, optically detected magnetic resonance of localized spin defects in a nanotube has not been observed. Here, we report the observation of single spin color centers in boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) at room temperature. Our findings suggest that these BNNT spin defects possess a spin
S
 = 1/2 ground state without an intrinsic quantization axis, leading to orientation-independent magnetic field sensing. We harness this unique feature to observe anisotropic magnetization of a 2D magnet in magnetic fields along orthogonal directions, a challenge for conventional spin
S
 = 1 defects such as diamond nitrogen-vacancy centers. Additionally, we develop a method to deterministically transfer a BNNT onto a cantilever and use it to demonstrate scanning probe magnetometry. Further refinement of our approach will enable atomic scale quantum sensing of magnetic fields in any direction.
Optically addressable spin defects, such as the NV centre in diamond, have enabled the nanoscale measurement of external stimuli. Here, Gao, Vaidya and coauthors observe a single spin colour centres in boron nitride nanotubes, which, due to their spin S = 1/2 ground state, allow for omnidirectional magnetic field sensing. ’