Isotropic Nanoscale Quantum Sensor at Room-Temperature

Abstract

Color-center based quantum sensors provide nanoscale resolution under ambient conditions, yet their applicability remains limited. Because the quantization axes are locked to the host lattice, conventional color centers suffer severe signal loss in off-axis magnetic fields. To address this, we report an isotropic magnetometer enabled by the neutrally charged nitrogen-vacancy center (NV0) in diamond. Here, spin-to-charge dynamics yield an NV0-dark spin pair whose quantization axis dynamically aligns with the external field. Read out through NV charge-state-selective fluorescence, this system exhibits microsecond room-temperature coherence and nanotesla sensitivity for arbitrary field directions. We demonstrate alignment-free mapping of steep field gradients and single paramagnetic micro-targets, alongside isotropic readout from randomly oriented nanodiamonds. Resolving longstanding orientation constraints, this platform unlocks unrestricted nanoscale magnetometry across life sciences and quantum materials.