Abstract

Exploring new class of quantum materials with advanced magnetic and electronic properties has been a central focus of modern condensed matter physics over the past decades. The success of these efforts relies simultaneously on advances in theory, material synthesis, and development of new, sensitive metrology tools capable of diagnosing the key material properties at the nanoscale. Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers, optically active atomic spin defects in diamond, are naturally relevant in this context due to their excellent quantum coherence, unprecedented spatial and field sensitivity, and remarkable functionality over broad experimental conditions. Serving as a local probe of multiple degrees of freedom, NV centers are ideally posed to investigate the fundamental correlations between microscopic spin, charge, and thermal behaviors in condensed matter systems. In this talk, the speaker will present her research group’s recent work on using NV centers to perform quantum sensing of emergent quantum materials. Specifically, they have utilized NV centers to visualize the exotic spin properties of topological magnetic materials and antiferromagnetic insulators, revealing the fundamental spin transport and dynamic physics at the nanoscale. Taking advantage of coherent coupling between NV centers and nanomagnetic devices, they achieved electric field induced coherent control of NV centers, promoting the role of NV centers at the forefront research of quantum science and technologies. Lastly, the speaker will briefly discuss their ongoing efforts on exploring 2D quantum sensing technologies using emergent color centers beyond NVs.

About the Speaker

Prof. DU Chunhui received her BS in Physics from East China Normal University in 2010 and her PhD in Physics from The Ohio State University in 2015. Before joining the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) in 2019, she was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Physics at UCSD.

Prof. Du’s current research focuses on developing color center-based quantum sensing technologies for studying emergent condensed matter systems. She is the recipient of the US National Science Foundation Career Award (2021), US Air Force’s Young Investigator Research Program Award (2021), US Department of Energy’s Early Career Award (2022), the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics Early Career Scientist Prize (2022) and the US Office of Naval Research’s Young Investigator Award (2023).

For Attendees' Attention


This talk will be held online via Zoom. To attend, please join the Zoom meeting at https://hkust.zoom.us/j/92503111371 (Meeting ID: 925 0311 1371 / Passcode: 475970).

About the Center

For more information, please refer to the center website at https://iascqt.hkust.edu.hk/.