Fabrication of Diamond NV Centers Quantum Sensors and Their Applications in Power Systems (Invited)

Wenbo Luo; Qiuming Fu; Geming Wang; Qirui Wu; Zhibin Ma; Hongyang Zhao; Tingting Jia; Shiao Wang; Wenshu Liu; Minghe Wang; Ziyun Zhu; Zhenxiang Cheng

doi:10.3788/CJL250884

Chinese Journal of Lasers, Volume. 52, Issue 18, 1803012(2025)

Fabrication of Diamond NV Centers Quantum Sensors and Their Applications in Power Systems (Invited)

Wenbo Luo¹, Qiuming Fu¹, Geming Wang¹, Qirui Wu², Zhibin Ma¹, Hongyang Zhao^1、*, Tingting Jia^1、**, Shiao Wang¹, Wenshu Liu¹, Minghe Wang¹, Ziyun Zhu¹, and Zhenxiang Cheng^3、***

Author Affiliations

¹Hubei Key Laboratory of Plasma Chemistry and Advanced Materials, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430205, Hubei , China

²Wuhan NARI Limited Liability Company, State Grid Electric Power Research Institute, Wuhan 430074, Hubei , China

³Institute for Superconducting & Electronic Materials, University of Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia

show less

Abstract Get PDF(in Chinese)

Figures & Tables(17)

Fig. 1. Schematic diagrams of the diamond NV center structure and energy level transition. (a) Schematic diagram of the NV center structure^[9]; (b) energy level transition of the NV center^[3]

Download full size

Fig. 2. Two methods for measuring the resonance frequency of NV centers^[21]. (a) Frequency scanning method for measuring the resonance frequency of NV centers; (b) calculating the resonance frequency using fluorescence intensity

Download full size

Fig. 3. Principles of microwave frequency modulation and demodulation^[31]

Download full size

Fig. 4. Schematic diagram of the HPHT method and phase diagram of diamond. (a) Schematic diagram of diamond synthesis by the HPHT method and its principle^[34]. The pressure chamber containing graphite, metallic melt, and diamond seed crystal is subjected to high pressure and high temperature conditions. The graphite dissolves in the metal and precipitates on the seed crystal, causing the diamond lattice to expand. (b) Phase diagram of graphite and diamond^[35], which shows the regions of pressure and temperature where HPHT and CVD synthesis can occur. CVD is a non-equilibrium process, and for better visibility, the region illustrating CVD growth is exaggerated

Download full size

Fig. 5. Schematic diagrams of MPCVD equipment and internal defects in diamond. (a) MPCVD (microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition) reactor^[52]. Microwave radiation enters the darkroom through the waveguide and the antenna. The chamber forms a resonant cavity, which is tuned by moving the position of the antenna. Plasma is generated directly above the surface of the substrate. This plasma activates, ionizes, and dissociates the input gas, thus initiating the growth of diamond on the nearby substrate. (b) Various defects in diamond crystals^[41]: a realistic form with various impurities mixed in, and an ideal form consisting of NV^- center and isolated nitrogen (donors)

Download full size

$Variation laws of T2* and sensitivity parameters of NV centers ensemble sensors with the mass fraction of isolated nitrogen[63]$

Fig. 6. Variation laws of $T_{2}^{*}$ and sensitivity parameters of NV centers ensemble sensors with the mass fraction of isolated nitrogen^[63]

Download full size

Fig. 7. System framework diagram of current transformer based on diamond NV centers magnetometer^[21]

Download full size

Fig. 8. Integration schematic diagram. (a) Housing encapsulated by 3D printing^[73]; (b) magnetometer integrated with LED^[74]; (c) CMOS chip-level integration^[33]; (d) fiber-optic coupled magnetometer probe^[76]; (e) micro-nano integration of diamond and microwave antenna^[79]; (f) diamond-embedded microwave antenna^[80]

Download full size

Fig. 9. Schematic diagram of the device structure for the three-axis vector magnetic field measurement based on the microwave-free magnetic measurement scheme^[84]

Download full size

Fig. 10. The development timeline of quantum magnetometers in domestic and international contexts

Download full size

Fig. 11. Schematic diagrams of a QCT^[101]. (a) Read out fluorescence through laser and microwave interrogation to obtain magnetic information on the high-voltage side; (b) insulation and measurement scheme

Download full size

Fig. 12. Multifaceted applications of diamond quantum devices. (a) Prototype battery monitor based on the diamond quantum sensor^[102]; (b) a diamond fiber-coupled scanning probe magnetometer is used for the detection of surface cracks in welds^[105]; (c) a multi-parameter sensor for magnetic field and temperature based on NV centers in diamond^[106]

Download full size

Table 1. Comparison of DC and AC magnetic measurements for ensemble NV centers^[2]

View table

Table 1. Comparison of DC and AC magnetic measurements for ensemble NV centers^[2]

Measurement method	Key technique	Limiting factor	Measurement frequency range
DC magnetic measurement	Ramsey sequence， CW-ODMR， pulsed ODMR	$T_{2}^{*}$ ， linewidth， contrast	0‒100 kHz （pulsed ODMR）， 0‒10 kHz （CW-ODMR）
AC magnetic measurement	Hahn echo， spin echo， dynamical decoupling sequences	$T_{2}$ ， $T_{1}$	Center frequency of 1 kHz‒10 MHz， bandwidth $\leq$ 100 kHz

Table 2. Comparison of performance between microwave-free measurement scheme and CW-ODMR scheme

View table

Table 2. Comparison of performance between microwave-free measurement scheme and CW-ODMR scheme

Scheme

Sensitivity

Bandwidth

Power consumption

CW-ODMR method

As low as the femtotesla level：

（195 $\pm$ 60） $f T / \sqrt[]{H z}$ ^［32］

0‒10 kHz

Tens to hundreds

of watts

Microwave-free measurement scheme

As low as picotesla level： 26 $p T / \sqrt[]{H z}$

（laboratory environment）^［85］

>300 kHz （up to MHz

level）^［84］

~1.5 W （minimum

0.1 mW）^［85］

Table 3. Performance comparison of different current measurement technologies at present^[95]

View table

Table 3. Performance comparison of different current measurement technologies at present^[95]

Current sensor name	Principle	Ability to measure DC	Cost	Measurement range	Linearity
Rogowski coil	Faraday’s law of electromagnetic induction	No	Moderate	A‒MA	0.05%‒1%
Hall effect sensor	Ampere’s circuital law	Yes	Extremely low	A‒kA	0.05%‒1%
Magnetic resistive sensor	Ampere’s circuital law	Yes	High	mA‒kA	0.001%‒0.05%
Optical fiber sensor	Faraday magneto-optical effect	Yes	Extremely high	kA	0.2%
Diamond NV centers sensor	Zeeman splitting	Yes	Low	~μA	0.0033%

Table 4. Performance comparison of different current sensors^[96]
View table
Table 4. Performance comparison of different current sensors^[96]
Type Range /kA Bandwidth /kHz Accuracy /% Temperature drift
Standard current transformer 1 100 0.2‒1 Yes
Hall effect 0.5 1 0.5‒5 Yes
Fluxgate 0.1 1 0.001‒0.5 Yes
Fiber-optic 100 100 0.2‒1 Yes
QCT 1 1.4 0.05‒1 No

Table 5. Performance comparison of domestic and international QCTs^[86]

View table

Table 5. Performance comparison of domestic and international QCTs^[86]

Year	Measurement range	Accuracy （non-linearity error）	Real-time	Current response rate	Diamond crystal orientation
2022^［102］	-1000 to+1000 A	0.3%	Yes	70 A/s	（111）
2022^［21］	500 A	0.3%	Yes		（100）
2023^［104］	40 A	0.0033%	No		（100）
2023^［100］	400 A	0.46%	Yes	15 A/s	（100）
2024^［86］	-1000 to+1000 A	0.06%	Yes	107 kA/s	（100）
2025^［96］	1000 A	0.05%	Yes		（100）

Tools

Get Citation

Copy Citation Text

Wenbo Luo, Qiuming Fu, Geming Wang, Qirui Wu, Zhibin Ma, Hongyang Zhao, Tingting Jia, Shiao Wang, Wenshu Liu, Minghe Wang, Ziyun Zhu, Zhenxiang Cheng. Fabrication of Diamond NV Centers Quantum Sensors and Their Applications in Power Systems (Invited)[J]. Chinese Journal of Lasers, 2025, 52(18): 1803012

Download Citation

EndNote(RIS)BibTex Plain Text

Set citation alerts for article

Save article for my favorites

Paper Information

Category: Materials

Received: May. 30, 2025

Accepted: Jul. 14, 2025

Published Online: Sep. 17, 2025

The Author Email: Hongyang Zhao (zhaohy@wit.edu.cn), Tingting Jia (jia.tingting@hotmail.com), Zhenxiang Cheng (zhenxiang_cheng@uow.edu.au)

DOI:10.3788/CJL250884

CSTR:32183.14.CJL250884

Topics

laser devices and laser physics

Lasers and Laser Optics

Laser physics

laser manufacturing

Instrumentation, Measurement and Metrology

Table 1. Comparison of DC and AC magnetic measurements for ensemble NV centers[2]

Table 1. Comparison of DC and AC magnetic measurements for ensemble NV centers[2]

Table 2. Comparison of performance between microwave-free measurement scheme and CW-ODMR scheme

Table 2. Comparison of performance between microwave-free measurement scheme and CW-ODMR scheme

Table 3. Performance comparison of different current measurement technologies at present[95]

Table 3. Performance comparison of different current measurement technologies at present[95]

Table 4. Performance comparison of different current sensors[96]

Table 4. Performance comparison of different current sensors[96]

Table 5. Performance comparison of domestic and international QCTs[86]

Table 5. Performance comparison of domestic and international QCTs[86]

Table 1. Comparison of DC and AC magnetic measurements for ensemble NV centers^[2]

Table 1. Comparison of DC and AC magnetic measurements for ensemble NV centers^[2]

Table 3. Performance comparison of different current measurement technologies at present^[95]

Table 3. Performance comparison of different current measurement technologies at present^[95]

Table 4. Performance comparison of different current sensors^[96]

Table 4. Performance comparison of different current sensors^[96]

Table 5. Performance comparison of domestic and international QCTs^[86]

Table 5. Performance comparison of domestic and international QCTs^[86]