Nanoscale Magnetometry of 2D Materials

A two-dimensional hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) flake is placed on top of a diamond containing shallow NV centers. The NV centers are optically probed to study dynamics in the 2d material.In the Lukin group, we use nanoscale magnetometry based on diamond NV spin qubits to probe the magnetic fields coming from spins and electrical currents in 2d materials.

2d materials come from layered parent compounds which can be mechanically exfoliated to isolate single-atom thick monolayers. Famous examples include graphene, hexagonal boron nitride and transition metal dichalcogenides. This exciting new class of materials feature a wide variety of electronic and magnetic properties which behave completely differently in the 2d limit.

Depiction of a field effect transistor made from 2D materials fabricated on top of a diamond containing NV centers. This approach allows for traditional transport measurements to be combined with nanoscale spatial imagingOne challenge in the study of 2d materials is the limitation of traditional bulk measurement techniques – the signals are just too small coming from the tiny material volumes. To tackle this problem, we use the diamond NV spin qubits to detect the magnetic fields emanating from 2d materials. This approach opens a wide experimental platform for studying the behavior of spins and electrons on the nanoscale.

 

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T. Andersen et. al., Science 364, 6436: 154-157 (2019).