Shine On You Crazy Diamond Quantum Magnetic Sensor
1 min read
Summary
The Hall Effect is a commonly known method of using a semiconductor to measure the magnetic field, but another approach involves using quantum technology.
Lab-grown diamonds with impurities such as nitrogen can create vacancies in the diamond’s lattice of carbon atoms, producing extra electrons.
Impurities can be stimulated to jump to higher energy levels by shining a green laser on them, releasing red light when they revert to a lower state.
This can be adapted into a magnetic field sensor by using a diamond in an assembly with a copper wire antenna, a photodiode and a red filter.
Electronics including an RF signal generator, RF amplifier, green laser diode and an ESP32 microcontroller can then be used to create a microwave signal, with the modification of the magnetic field altering the electron spin state and hence the amount of red light emitted.
The design files and firmware for this sensor have been open sourced, and the project’s creators want it to become quantum technology’s “Apple II moment”.
