An ultrafast diamond nonlinear photonic sensor

Nat. Commun. 16, 8300 (2025) · DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-63936-8 · arXiv: 2601.15562

License: CC BY 4.0.

Abstract

The integration of light and materials technology is key to the creation of innovative sensing technologies. Sensing of electric and magnetic fields, and temperature with high spatio-temporal resolution is a critical task for the development of the next-generation of nanometer-scale quantum devices. Color centers in diamonds are attractive for potential applications owing to their characteristic quantum states, although they require metallic contacts for the introduction of external microwaves. Here, we build an ultrafast diamond nonlinear photonic sensor to assess the surface electric field; an electro-optic sensor based on nitrogen-vacancy centers in a diamond nanotip breaks the spatial-limit of conventional pump-probe techniques. The 10-fs near-infrared optical pulse modulates the surface electric field of a 2D transition metal dichalcogenide and we monitor the dynamics of the local electric field at nanometer-femtosecond spatio-temporal resolutions. Our nanoscopic technique will provide new horizons to the sensing of advanced nano materials.

Figures

6 panels with data across 2 figures. Each panel page shows the plot, its columns and its files; each data.csv begins with a header naming the paper, the panel, the source, the license and the provenance route.

Fig. 1

Illustrative figure, no extractable data. Shown in the paper PDF.

Fig. 2

Illustrative figure, no extractable data. Shown in the paper PDF.

Fig. 3

• panel (b): Time-resolved electro-optic signal $\Delta R_\mathrm{eo}/R$ ($\times 10^{-6}$) of an n-GaAs wafer without the diamond NV probe (macroscopic) against pump-probe time delay (ps), at room temperature. The black dashed exponential fit is not drawn. data.csv
• panel (c): Time-resolved electro-optic signal $\Delta R_\mathrm{eo}/R$ ($\times 10^{-6}$) of n-GaAs measured through the diamond NV probe (local) against pump-probe time delay (ps), at room temperature. The black dashed exponential fit and the cantilever photo inset are not drawn. data.csv

Fig. 4

• panel (b): Time-resolved electro-optic signal $\Delta R_\mathrm{eo}/R$ ($\times 10^{-6}$) against time delay (ps), measured without the diamond NV probe (macroscopic) at three positions: P1 on monolayer WSe$_2$, P2 on bulk WSe$_2$ and P3 on the SiO$_2$ substrate, at room temperature. data.csv
• panel (c): AFM height (nm) against position ($\mu$m) along the line scan from monolayer to bulk WSe$_2$, 200 nm steps, taken with a silicon tip. The green shading marking the bulk region, the coloured dots marking measurement positions P4 to P11 and the scan arrow are not drawn. data.csv
• panel (e): Waterfall of the local electro-optic signal $\Delta R_\mathrm{eo}/R$ ($\times 10^{-6}$) against time delay (ps), measured through the diamond NV probe at positions P4 (monolayer WSe$_2$) to P11 (bulk), with single or double exponential fits in grey. The print stacks the traces with vertical offsets; here each keeps its deposited values and stands at its printed offset along the depth axis. data.csv
• panel (f): Decay time constants $\tau_1$ and $\tau_2$ (ps) from the fits in (e), against measurement position P4 to P11; $\tau_2$ exists only at the bulk positions P8 to P11. Error bars are standard deviations. The green shading marking the bulk region is not drawn, and the connecting lines are in full colour rather than the printed pale tint. data.csv

Cite

Daisuke Sato, Junjie Guo, Takuto Ichikawa, Dwi Prananto, Toshu An, Paul Fons, Shoji Yoshida, Hidemi Shigekawa, Muneaki Hase. An ultrafast diamond nonlinear photonic sensor. Nat. Commun. 16, 8300 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-63936-8

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