Diamond quantum nano-engineering
Quantum optimal control approach improves the operation of a diamond-based quantum nano-sensor of ultrathin magnetic fields [Physical Review X, 8, 021059 (2018)].
Spins in diamond test quantum fluctuation relations describing thermodynamic processes in nanoscale quantum devices [Physical Review Research 2, 023327 (2020)].
Description
We investigate the quantum dynamics of single spins in the solid state, for quantum science and new-generation quantum technologies at the nanoscale.
We combine quantum optics and advanced magnetic resonance tools to detect and control the spin of optically-active diamond defects – so-called color centers, and manipulate their interaction with the magnetic and spin environment. We particularly focus on the nitrogen-vacancy color center in diamond, which can serve as a building block for quantum information processing, quantum simulation and quantum sensing.
We develop advanced spin control protocols for quantum-enhanced magnetic sensing and spectroscopy [Physical Review X, 8, 021059 (2018), Physical Review B 98, 214307 (2018)] to be applied to the investigation of nanomagnetism, to the design of innovative magnetic materials with tailored properties, and to biomedical imaging (see Fig. 1). We aim at exploiting the system comprising the electronic spin and close-by nuclear spins for the implementation of small quantum registers capable of simple quantum algorithms with very high fidelities. We also explore the use of diamond single spins and spin systems to investigate the energy exchange mechanisms in thermodynamic processes at the nanoscales (see Fig. 2), especially out of equilibrium, and their quantum informational role [Physical Review Research 2, 023327 (2020)].
In these fields, diamond spins provide a valuable platform to enlightening the role of quantum measurements, coherence, entanglement, and their interplay with noise, and to exploit them as resources to optimize the operation of quantum devices.