Quantum sensing with nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond has emerged as a powerful tool for measuring diverse physical parameters, yet the versatility of these measurement approaches is often limited by the achievable layout and dimensionality of bulk-crystal platforms. Here, we demonstrate a versatile approach to creating designer quantum sensors by surface-functionalizing multiphoton lithography microstructures with NV-containing nanodiamonds. We showcase this capability by fabricating a 150 μm x 150 μm x 150 μm triply periodic minimal surface gyroid structure with millions of attached nanodiamonds. We demonstrate a means to volumetrically image these structures using a refractive index matching confocal imaging technique, and extract ODMR spectra from 1.86 μm x 1.86 μm areas of highly concentrated nanodiamonds across a cross section of the gyroid. Furthermore, the high density of sensing elements enables ensemble temperature measurements with sensitivity of 0.548 °K/√Hz at 5 mW excitation power. This approach to creating quantum-enabled microarchitectures opens new possibilities for multimodal sensing in complex three-dimensional environments. 

Related Publications:

B. Blankenship‡, Y. Rho‡, et al, 2025, https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.16434  

 The critical and immediate problems in many optoelectronics, sensors, and electrochemical devices are optical, thermal, and chemical degradation, which critically depend on the intrinsic surface/bulk defects and interfaces. These degradation processes often manifest in dynamic, far-from-equilibrium energy and mass transport. Therefore, this research track is focused on developing and implementing in-operando wide-field multimodal characterization for data-driven prediction of materials and device failure. The device performance degradation can be predicted based on the obtained data sets without testing under prolonged external chemical, thermal, and optical stimulations (Figure 4b). This prediction can be used for decision making for selective defect repair and process optimization. The proposed in-operando wide-field diagnostics will offer a unique pathway to systematic investigation of dynamic physicochemical phenomena in operating devices, which will provide rich information for design and development of robust device platforms. 

Related Publications:

Y. Rho et al., 2023, Optics Letters, 48 (14), 3789-3792 

Y. Rho et al., 2024, Optics Express, 32 (15), 26632-26639

 The semiconductor industry has evolved in accordance with the Moore's Law, progressing from microelectronics in the 1980s to nanoelectronics in the early 2000s, eventually venturing into atomic-scale quantum technology. High accuracy requirements, a significant hurdle to scalability, need innovative solutions for new technologies due to ultra-small allowable size deviations. Conventional plasma-based technologies with energetic particles in defect engineering, etching, doping, and materials deposition processes add another challenge in minimizing unwanted damage in atomic scale regions. Implementing multi laser beams will provide etchants, dopants, and depositing radicals to the surface via photochemical dissociation of chemical agents, followed by the direct laser beam illumination that promotes the etching, doping, and recrystallization in chemical and thermal processes. The proposed multi-laser beam assisted chemical processes can be applied to various atomically thin materials systems and quantum computing applications. 

Related Publications:

Y. Rho‡ and K. Lee‡ et al., 2022, Nature Electronics, 5, 505–510 

Y. Rho, et al., 2019, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 11 (42), 39385-39393

Y. Rho‡ and H.Kim‡ et al, 2022, Advanced Materials Interfaces, 9 (23), 2200634

M. Eliceiri‡, Y. Rho‡, et al, 2023, Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology A , 41, 2, 022602

 Ultrafast carrier dynamics (~1ps) in silicon nanowires can be extracted from an ultrafast scattering signal decaying curve obtained in nanoscale lateral resolution (~30nm). Our study enables a nanoimaging of ultrafast dynamics of materials properties, which will find promising applications in the future design of a broad range of electronic, photonic, and optoelectronic devices. The nanoscale temperature, chemistry, and photoconversion efficiency of the device will be in-situ probed by employing scanning thermal microscopy (SThM), photo-induced force microscopy (PiFM), and near-field photocurrent microscopy (SNPM), respectively,  

Related Publications: 

Y. Rho‡ and S.Yoo‡ et al., 2023 Nano Letters, 23 (5), 1843-1849 

J. Li‡, R. Yang‡, Y. Rho*, 2023 Nano Letters, 23 (4), 1445–1450

 A Kirigami pattern in a suspended graphene monolayer can be generated by a femtosecond laser ablation and an electron beam patterning. The produced Kirigami engineered graphene membrane showed broadened bandwidths, reduced resonance frequency, and enhanced amplitude by releasing stress at the boundary. By taking the virtue of light weight and ultrahigh mechanical strength of graphene, this result presents a promising route to miniaturized wide-band energy transferrable mechanical transducers with enhanced operational parameter range and energy transfer efficiency.  

Related Publication: 

C. Dai‡, Y. Rho‡ et al., 2022, Nano Letters, 22 (13), 5301–5306