Diamond Resonators Boost Quantum Sensor Potential

UC Santa Barbara physicist Ania Bleszynski Jayich sees diamonds as a powerful foundation for quantum sensors.

Apr. 7, 2026 at 2:42am

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An abstract painting featuring sweeping geometric shapes and precise botanical spirals in earthy tones, conceptually representing the complex interplay of mechanical, optical, and quantum phenomena within a diamond crystal lattice.A conceptual illustration of the intricate quantum mechanics at play within Bleszynski Jayich's high-performance diamond resonators, which could unlock new frontiers in sensor technology.Santa Barbara Today

Ania Bleszynski Jayich, a physicist at UC Santa Barbara, is using diamonds grown in the UC Quantum Foundry to develop high-performance mechanical resonators that could serve as the foundation for powerful quantum sensors. Her team has created a diamond optomechanical crystal with a mechanical quality factor exceeding 1 million, allowing it to oscillate 10 billion times per second before the energy dissipates.

Why it matters

Mechanical resonators are a key component of quantum sensors, which have the potential to far surpass the capabilities of classical sensors. Bleszynski Jayich's work on creating high-frequency, long-lived diamond resonators is a significant step towards realizing practical quantum sensing technologies.

The details

Bleszynski Jayich's team uses a mechanically oscillating diamond beam, called a diamond optomechanical crystal, that is co-located with an optical resonator to drive and read out the mechanical motion. The quality (Q) factor, which measures how long the resonator oscillates before energy dissipates, is a critical metric. The researchers achieved a Q factor of 1 million, allowing the resonator to cycle 10 billion times per second. This high-frequency, long-lived mechanical motion can be used to mediate interactions between the nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers embedded in the diamond, which act as long-lived quantum bits that can sense magnetic, electric, strain, and thermal fields.

  • The research paper was published in the journal Optica on April 7, 2026.

The players

Ania Bleszynski Jayich

A professor and director of the UC Quantum Foundry at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who is developing diamond-based quantum sensing technologies.

UC Quantum Foundry

A research facility at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where Bleszynski Jayich and her team grow diamonds for use in quantum technologies.

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What they’re saying

“We're focused on implementing mechanical resonators into quantum technologies, and for that, we need a high frequency.”

— Ania Bleszynski Jayich, Professor and Director, UC Quantum Foundry

“Suppose you have a piece of diamond with billions of carbon atoms in it. Every once in a while, there's a nitrogen atom — found often in diamond — that has a vacancy next to it, called a nitrogen vacancy (NV) center. These NV centers, which are physically housed inside the diamond and fluoresce when excited by light, constitute long-lived quantum bits that can sense tiny magnetic, electric, strain or thermal fields.”

— Ania Bleszynski Jayich, Professor and Director, UC Quantum Foundry

What’s next

Bleszynski Jayich's team plans to use pulsed optical probing techniques to further improve the quality factor of their diamond resonators, aiming to achieve performance on par with or better than silicon-based resonators. They also hope to leverage the high-Q mechanical motion to mediate interactions between the embedded NV center qubits, enabling the creation of entangled quantum sensor arrays.

The takeaway

Bleszynski Jayich's work on high-performance diamond resonators represents a significant advancement in the development of practical quantum sensing technologies. By harnessing the unique properties of diamond, including its ability to host long-lived quantum bits, her team is paving the way for a new generation of sensors that could revolutionize fields ranging from materials science to medicine.