Galland leads LQNO at EPFL investigating light-matter interactions in nano-structures and the quantum regime. Research directions: (1) NV centers in diamond for quantum sensing — spectroscopy of NV spin states in ultra-thin diamond membranes, development of diamond nanophotonic platforms for enhanced sensing sensitivity; collaboration on quantum sensing with color centers; (2) Plasmonic nanocavities — few-nm gap junctions enhance Raman scattering by ×10^9, enabling single-molecule vibrational spectroscopy and coherent control; ultrafast and single-photon detection of coherent phonon dynamics; (3) 2D heterostructure photonics — entangled photon pair generation enhanced by TMD heterostructures; valley-polarized exciton sources; (4) Optical frequency conversion for quantum applications. SNSF-funded professor, internationally recognized for molecular optomechanics and carbon nanotube quantum optics.
Ghiasi's Quantum Spintronics (QuSpin) Lab studies spin transport and magnetism in 2D and van der Waals materials, and — in close collaboration with the van der Sar group — pioneered a diamond-membrane dry-transfer technique that brings NV-ensemble ensembles into direct nanoscale contact with 2D antiferromagnets (e.g., CrSBr) to quantitatively image monolayer-thickness-dependent magnetic stray fields. This complements the well-established line of NV-ensemble quantum sensing experiments (DEER, NMR, T1-relaxometry) that reach pT/sqrt(Hz)-class sensitivities, extending the toolbox toward mechanical and single-atom/single-spin readout.
The Han Lab (Chemistry, joined fall 2023) develops quantum sensing tools rooted in electron and nuclear spin physics for life-science applications. Directions: (1) DNP-enhanced NMR quantum sensing using coupled electron-nuclear spin clusters — designing novel biradical and multi-spin systems achieving 700-fold ¹³C signal enhancement at 14.1 T via P1 center clusters in HPHT diamond (exchange coupling >100 MHz); aiming for in-cell NMR with sensitivity to track water dynamics in a single cell; (2) High-field pulsed EPR at 240 GHz / 8.6 T: time-resolved Gd-Gd EPR (TiGGER) for tracking inter-residue distances during protein functional cycles in solution with sub-nm resolution; rapid-scan field-domain EPR development; (3) Integration of DNP/EPR with nanodiamond-based quantum sensors: coupled electron-nuclear spin cluster design for long-range quantum sensing in biological environments, bridging conventional NMR/EPR and NV-center-based quantum sensing. Han directs the EPR/DNP component of IMSERC (Northwestern's core facility) and brought three new EPR spectrometers and a 600 MHz DNP-NMR system.
Hemmer pioneered NV-diamond spin sensing and super-resolution with spin defects, working on coherent control, photonic integration of NV sensors, and diamond-based magnetometry/imaging bridging physics and engineering. In the broader landscape of NV-centre ensemble quantum sensing (DEER, nano-NMR, T1 relaxometry) operating near pT/sqrt(Hz) sensitivity, this work is directly in the NV ensemble sensing lineage, emphasizing photonic integration and super-resolution readout.
Hetet's group couples NV-center ensemble electron spins in electrically or optically levitated micro-diamonds to the mechanical (rotational and translational) degrees of freedom of the host particle, demonstrating spin-dependent torques strong enough to deflect a cantilever, spin-cooling of levitated motion, and NMR performed on a levitating microparticle. This complements the well-established line of NV-ensemble quantum sensing experiments (DEER, NMR, T1-relaxometry) that reach pT/sqrt(Hz)-class sensitivities, extending the toolbox toward mechanical and single-atom/single-spin readout.
Studies optical quantum science in solid-state systems with emphasis on photonic integration. Directions: (1) photonic integration of NV-center spin qubits in diamond nanophotonic circuits for scalable quantum sensing arrays; (2) 2D semiconductor (TMD) nanophotonic devices exploiting valley and spin-valley degrees of freedom; (3) engineering light-matter interactions for quantum information and sensing in nanoscale optical cavities. Key goal: scalable on-chip quantum sensing platforms.
Hollenberg is the intellectual centre of gravity for diamond quantum sensing in Australia: a theorist-turned-programme-leader whose group develops NV-based quantum probes for biological systems and quantum-computing architectures in silicon and diamond. Current directions include the quantum-probe hyperspectral microscope, in which NV ensembles in a bulk diamond substrate report magnetic and spin-noise contrast from cells cultured directly on the surface; nanodiamond quantum probes for intracellular relaxometry and free-radical detection; theory of decoherence-based sensing (T1 relaxometry as a chemical-specificity channel rather than a nuisance); and single-cell magnetic resonance. He co-leads the Melbourne node of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Quantum Biotechnology (QUBIC) with Simpson and Hinde, which is explicitly chartered to build quantum sensors for live biology, including portable brain imagers. Positioned against the established body of NV-ensemble quantum sensing work — DEER, nanoscale NMR and T1 relaxometry protocols operating at pT/sqrt(Hz) field sensitivity — his programme is one of the small number worldwide that has carried those ensemble protocols all the way into cell culture and tissue rather than stopping at proof-of-principle magnetometry. Preferred attribute present: the group's emphasis is on sensitivity and biological specificity rather than device fabrication, and QUBIC funding runs to 2030 with recurring postdoc recruitment.
Hong runs Hybrid Optical Quantum Technologies within Stuttgart's FMQ institute: optomechanical and opto-mechanical-spin hybrid devices used for quantum sensing and for tests of quantum mechanics at larger mass scales. Work covers cavity/phononic-crystal optomechanics driven toward the quantum regime (ground-state cooling, back-action-evading and quantum-limited displacement/force readout) and the coupling of diamond spin defects to mechanical motion, including levitated-diamond spin-mechanics -- where an NV inside a levitated particle both senses and controls the particle's motion. Relative to the established NV-ensemble quantum-sensing playbook (DEER, nanoscale NMR, T1 relaxometry at pT/sqrt(Hz) ensemble sensitivity), this is the same colour-centre physics, deliberately hybridized with mechanics: the sensing target shifts from magnetic field to force, acceleration and displacement, and the group sits alongside Wrachtrup's NV programme in the same building, which is a considerable practical advantage.
Jacques is a pioneer of scanning NV magnetometry, using single nitrogen-vacancy spins in scanning-probe diamond tips to image magnetic textures at the nanoscale under ambient conditions. His team applies this to condensed-matter systems including antiferromagnetic domain walls and chiral spin textures, non-collinear antiferromagnetic order via single-spin relaxometry, and current-driven skyrmion motion in synthetic antiferromagnets, work carried out in close collaboration with materials-physics groups.
Klaeui runs one of Europe's larger nanomagnetism/spintronics groups, working on magnetic skyrmions, antiferromagnetic and ferrimagnetic spin textures, domain-wall dynamics, spin caloritronics and magnon transport, with an eye to low-power memory and unconventional (neuromorphic/stochastic) computing. The connection to this search is the metrology: reading out antiferromagnetic and skyrmionic textures requires stray-field imaging at nanometre scale, and the group uses NV scanning-probe and widefield NV magnetometry alongside synchrotron X-PEEM/XMCD and Kerr microscopy. Relative to the established NV-ensemble quantum-sensing playbook (DEER, nanoscale NMR, T1 relaxometry at pT/sqrt(Hz) ensemble sensitivity), this is a strong 'sensor-as-tool' host -- the NV magnetometer is the instrument, and the physics questions are in the material. Preferred-attribute note: cutting-edge spatial resolution rather than device fabrication is the emphasis on the imaging side, though the group does substantial thin-film growth and lithography.