Multimodal scanning-probe quantum sensing of quantum materials

Nature Materials (2026) Cite this article Spin-defect-based quantum microscopy has recently made transformative advances in cutting-edge scientific research and technological innovation. The high sensitivity, high spatial resolution and excellent measurement modalities of quantum spin defects open up a range of opportunities at the forefront of condensed-matter physics research. Many of the advantages of this approach result from the quantum mechanical nature of the sensors, which offer functionalities that are not available with their classical counterparts. In this Review, we provide an overview of progress on scanning-probe nitrogen-vacancy quantum sensing research and its application to investigating the physics of emergent quantum materials with nanoscale spatial resolution. We also discuss quantum sensing platforms built on more recently discovered spin defects in one-dimensional and two-dimensional materials beyond nitrogen-vacancy centres. We conclude with an outlook on future directions and opportunities for these rapidly advancing quantum sensing technologies.This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription $32.99 / 30 days cancel any timeSubscribe to this journal Receive 12 print issues and online access $259.00 per yearonly $21.58 per issueBuy this articleUSD 39.95Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkoutDegen, C. L., Reinhard, F. & Cappellaro, P. Quantum sensing. Rev. Mod. Phys. 89, 035002 (2017).Article Google Scholar Casola, F., van der Sar, T. & Yacoby, A. Probing condensed matter physics with magnetometry based on nitrogen-vacancy centres in diamond. Nat. Rev. Mater. 3, 17088 (2018).Article CAS Google Scholar Rovny, J. et al. Nanoscale diamond quantum sensors for many-body physics. Nat. Rev. Phys. 6, 753–768 (2024).Article Google Scholar Aslam, N. et al. Quantum sensors for biomedical applications. Nat. Rev. Phys. 5, 157–169 (2023).Article PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar Crawford, S. E. et al. Quantum sensing for energy applications: review and perspective. Adv. Quantum Technol. 4, 2100049 (2021).Article Google Scholar Ye, J. & Zoller, P. Essay: quantum sensing with atomic, molecular, and optical platforms for fundamental physics. Phys. Rev. Lett. 132, 190001 (2024).Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar Rondin, L. et al. Magnetometry with nitrogen-vacancy defects in diamond. Rep. Prog. Phys. 77, 056503 (2014).Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar Doherty, M. W. et al. The nitrogen-vacancy colour centre in diamond. Phys. Rep. 528, 1–45 (2013).Article CAS Google Scholar Koehl, W. F., Buckley, B. B., Heremans, F. J., Calusine, G. & Awschalom, D. D. Room temperature coherent control of defect spin qubits in silicon carbide. Nature 479, 84–87 (2011).Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar Widmann, M. et al. Coherent control of single spins in silicon carbide at room temperature. Nat. Mater. 14, 164–168 (2015).Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar Bejarano, M. et al. Parametric magnon transduction to spin qubits. Sci. Adv. 10, eadi2042 (2024).Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar Chen, X. et al. Quantum sensing of room-temperature gerromagnetism in 2D van der Waals Fe3GaTe2 using divacancy spins in SiC. Adv. Funct. Mater. 35, 2413529 (2025).Article CAS Google Scholar Li, P. et al. Non-invasive bioinert room-temperature quantum sensor from silicon carbide qubits. Nat. Mater. 24, 1913–1919 (2025).Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar Aharonovich, I., Englund, D. & Toth, M. Solid-state single-photon emitters. Nat. Photon. 10, 631–641 (2016).Article CAS Google Scholar Azzam, S. I., Parto, K. & Moody, G. Prospects and challenges of quantum emitters in 2D materials. Appl. Phys. Lett. 118, 240502 (2021).Article CAS Google Scholar Gottscholl, A. et al. Initialization and read-out of intrinsic spin defects in a van der Waals crystal at room temperature. Nat. Mater. 19, 540–545 (2020).Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar Vaidya, S., Gao, X., Dikshit, S., Aharonovich, I. & Li, T. Quantum sensing and imaging with spin defects in hexagonal boron nitride. Adv. Phys. X 8, 2206049 (2023).

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P.M. acknowledges support from ERC consolidator grant project QS2DM, the Swiss NSF under grant number 188521 and the Swiss Nanoscience Institute. V.J. acknowledges support from the European Research Council under grant agreement number 866267 (EXAFONIS) and from the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche through the ESR/EquipEx+ 2DMAG programme (grant number ANR-21-ESRE-0025).School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USASenlei Li & Chunhui Rita DuLaboratoire Charles Coulomb CNRS-Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, FranceVincent JacquesDepartment of Physics, University of Basel, Basel, SwitzerlandPatrick MaletinskySwiss Nanoscience Institute, University of Basel, Basel, SwitzerlandPatrick MaletinskyLaboratory for Solid State Physics, ETH Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandChristian L. DegenQuantum Center, ETH Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandChristian L. DegenSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarAll authors participated in writing and discussions.Correspondence to Chunhui Rita Du.The authors declare no competing interests.Nature Materials thanks Brian Zhou and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.Reprints and permissionsLi, S., Jacques, V., Maletinsky, P. et al. Multimodal scanning-probe quantum sensing of quantum materials. Nat. Mater. (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-026-02648-wDownload citationReceived: 23 August 2025Accepted: 26 May 2026Published: 06 July 2026Version of record: 06 July 2026DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-026-02648-wAnyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article. Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative