U of Basel Researchers Provide New Look at 2D Magnets using Diamond Quantum Sensors

(RDMag) Physicists at the University of Basel have succeeded in measuring the magnetic properties of atomically thin van der Waals materials on the nanoscale for the first time. They used diamond quantum sensors to determine the strength of the magnetization of individual atomic layers of the material chromium triiodide. The work opens interesting perspectives on how their innovative quantum sensors can be used in the future to study two-dimensional magnets in order to contribute to the development of novel electronic components.
“Our method, which uses the individual spins in diamond color centers as sensors, opens up a whole new field. The magnetic properties of two-dimensional materials can now be studied on the nanoscale and even in a quantitative manner. Our innovative quantum sensors are perfectly suited to this complex task,” says Georg-H.-Endress Professor Patrick Maletinsky from the Department of Physics and the Swiss Nanoscience Institute at the University of Basel.