Congratulations to Ziyun Yu and Yunbin Zhu for publishing  Experimental demonstration of diamond quantum vector magnetometer for deep-sea applications on National Science Review!

Magnetometry plays an important role in exploring the deep sea, which is one of the Earth’s final unknown frontiers. However, the complexity of marine environment and the limitations of conventional magnetometers restricts its in-depth application. Nitrogen-Vacancy (NV) center in diamond offers a potential solution to encompass and transcend the conventional ocean magnetometers. Its unique advantages, such as precise vector measurement and tolerance to extreme environments, make it well-suited for deep-sea applications like navigation. This work introduces the first deep-sea quantum vector magnetometer based on NV centers. The performance of this magnetometer is effectively validated by a series of field tests on the manned submersible ShenhaiYongshi during a cruise in the South China Sea, including an experimental underwater navigation using the diamond quantum sensor as magnetic compass. This successful deep-sea application marks the milestone of transforming this promising solid-state spin quantum system into a practical sensor for real-world marine applications.

 

https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwae478