Tiny Crystal Measures Temperature and Magnetic Field Simultaneously ⚡ экспресс
Scientists used single quantum emitters in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) — a two-dimensional material — to simultaneously measure temperature and magnetic field. Temperature is determined by the shift in emission frequency (zero-phonon line), and the magnetic field via magnetic resonance (ODMR), with these channels being independent. They demonstrated local temperature measurement of a working microchip while simultaneously monitoring the external magnetic field. This makes hBN a promising platform for multifunctional quantum sensing, akin to a multipurpose nano-tool.
A tiny defect in a boron nitride crystal behaves like a microscopic indicator bulb. Shine light on it, and it glows, with the shade shifting with temperature: the warmer it gets, the redder the glow. At the same time, if you bathe the defect in microwaves, its brightness flickers in sync with an external magnetic field. The reason lies in the electron’s spin — the quantum equivalent of a spinning top — that flips its rotation under magnetic influence. So this single pinpoint independently reports heat (via color) and magnetic field (via pulsations). The method harks back to the work of Раби on magnetic resonance, while modern lasers, co-invented by Таунса, have made it possible to study individual defects.
It turns out these sensors are so small you can mount them on the tip of an optical fiber — yielding a hair-thin probe capable of peering deep inside a live microchip or even a living cell. Unlike similar devices based on углерода (diamond), boron nitride is cheap and easy to process. This technology paves the way for affordable multifunctional instruments that blend спектроскопия and фотометрия with magnetism analysis.
🎯 Single defects in boron nitride can be glued to the end of an optical fiber — making a thermometer-magnetometer as thin as a human hair.
🎬 Such a sensor is almost a tricorder from Star Trek: a tiny gadget that measures temperature and magnetic fields at the same time.