Virtually all matter becomes slightly magnetic in a strong magnetic field. Surprisingly, even frogs can be magnetized and levitated by a strong magnet. However, this induced magnetisation is typically extremely weak, nearly a million times weaker than the magnetisation of a strong permanent magnet. We thus not only need strong magnets to evoke it, but also require sensitive measurement methods to analyse it. While many methods exist to measure strong-field induced magnetisation on large samples, we cannot currently image it with micrometer or nanometer spatial resolution. There is no sensitive microscope for magnetic susceptibility.
Building such a device is the key goal of the project, and will be accomplished by diamond quantum sensors. These sensors can image magnetic fields with high sensitivity and spatial resolution, and can in particular operate in the strong magnetic background field required to magnetise matter. While their sensitivity and resolution are widely known, this latter advantage has hardly been explored so far.
The AG quantum technology will apply this device to several outstanding questions of solid-state science, and will specifically study aging mechanisms in Lithium batteries, defects in aluminum alloys and high-temperature superconductivity. In all these domains, measurements on large-scale samples have shown that magnetisation changes, e.g. upon cooling the material into the superconducting state, but a microscopic picture is lacking.
These studies will be conducted jointly with other groups from various faculties of the University of Rostock and the University of Kiel, and will thus also advance the research line "Life, Light & Matter" of our interdisciplinary faculty.
Contact:
University of Rostock
AG Quantum Technology
Prof. Friedemann Reinhard
☎ +49 381 4986840
@ friedemann.reinharduni-rostockde
✉ Institut für Physik, AG Quantentechnologie, Raum 116
Albert-Einstein-Str 23
18059 Rostock
🕸 https://www.qt.physik.uni-rostock.de/en/
📺 https://uni-rostock-de.zoom.us/j/8606021389