Optically addressable solid-state electronic spins are central to emerging quantum technologies, such as optical quantum networks and quantum sensors. While spins associated with defects have received much attention, molecular spins are particularly promising due to their unique chemical tunability. However, there are few molecular systems where optically detected magnetic resonance has been demonstrated under ambient conditions, and even fewer where this has been demonstrated on the single molecule level. Single molecule optically detected magnetic resonance would enable versatile, high proximity quantum sensing technologies.
Our group is interested in forming an understanding of the molecular design rules that govern the excited state dynamics, optical properties, spin initialisation and spin coherence timescales for molecular qubit candidates. This project will involve the study of excited and ground state molecular spins using a homebuilt optically detected magnetic resonance setup. In collaboration with chemists (researchers in the Departments of Chemistry at both the University of Oxford and University of Cambridge), we will form a structure-function relationship for molecular spin qubit candidates. This work complements our research on spin defects in solid-state materials (hBN), meaning the student will have broad exposure to the field of solid-state optically addressable electronic spins for quantum technologies.
I will send you a figure for this shortly. For now, use the same figure as the first project ‘Development of optically detected magnetic resonance of electron and nuclear spins in hexagonal boron nitride.’
