Magnetic Imaging with Spin Defects in Hexagonal Boron Nitride

Abstract

Optically active spin defects hosted in hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) are promising candidates for the development of a two-dimensional (2D) quantum sensing unit. Here, we demonstrate quantitative magnetic imaging with h-BN flakes doped with negatively charged boron-vacancy (VB-) centers through neutron irradiation. As a proof-of-concept, we image the magnetic field produced by CrTe2, a van der Waals ferromagnet with a Curie temperature slightly above 300 K. Compared to other quantum sensors embedded in 3D materials, the advantages of the h-BN-based magnetic sensor described in this work are its ease of use, high flexibility, and, more importantly, its ability to be placed in close proximity to a target sample. Such a sensing unit will likely find numerous applications in 2D materials research by offering a simple way to probe the physics of van der Waals heterostructures.