• Skip to content
  • Skip to footer

Iowa Space Grant Consortium

  • Home
  • About
    • ISGC Team
  • Funding Calendar
  • Students
    • Undergrads
    • Graduate Students
    • Student Reports
      • Undergraduate Students
      • Graduate Students
      • Symposium 2020 Reports
    • Alumni Stories
  • Internships
    • NASA Internships
    • Internship Opportunities
    • Internship Reports
  • Faculty
  • Education & Outreach
    • Precollege (K-12 Educators)
    • Educator Astro Camp
    • 2023 & 2024 Solar Eclipse
    • Space Week Challenge
  • Forms Repository
    • Faculty Forms & Reports
    • Student Forms & Reports
  • Announcements
  • Links
    • Links
    • Iowa NASA EPSCoR
    • NASA Resources
    • NASA Solar System Ambassadors
  • ISGC Student Research Symposium

David Fehr

January 30, 2023

Student: David Fehr, graduate student in Physics, University of Iowa

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Michael Flattè

Theory of a Single Silicon Vacancy in Silicon Carbide as a Quantum Magnetometer

Solid-state magnetometers have recently stimulated interest due to their smaller size, weight, and power (SWaP) compared to existing magnetometers, and their potential to self-calibrate without expensive spacecraft maneuvers; two attractive features which help conserve spacecraft fuel. However, extensive research must be completed to optimize this new technology, and a detailed theory is the first step.

This project is a continuation of my summer 2022 internship experience at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, made possible by the JPL Visiting Student Research Program (JVSRP). Mentored by Dr. Hannes Kraus and Dr. Corey Cochrane at JPL and my advisor, Dr. Michael Flatté, I developed a preliminary model of OPuS-MAGNM, a cutting-edge optically pumped magnetometer which uses the spin of a single silicon vacancy (VSi) in silicon carbide (SiC) as a quantum sensor of magnetic fields, using density matrix formalism and Lindblad master equations. In addition to fuel conservation, the inexpensive and simple mechanism of OPuS-MAGNM is advantageous over its state-of-the-art but expensive, optically pumped contemporaries, whose chambers of atomic gas inevitably leak.

Another exciting solid-state magnetometer candidate is SiCMag, the all-electrical counterpart to OPuS-MAGNM. Because SiCMag is purely electrical it can operate without fiber-optic cables, which are vulnerable to radiation damage; or high-frequency RF fields, which require stable temperatures and more power. This makes SiCMag potentially more robust to radiation damage than OPuS-MAGNM with an even lower SWaP. This project aims to optimize the existing model of OPuS-MAGNM I developed over the summer, and develop a detailed model of SiCMag, laying the foundation for their combination into a single, composite magnetometer.

Footer

Follow us on social media:

NASA Logo Space Grant Logo

Copyright © 2023 · Iowa Space Grant Consortium · All Rights Reserved
The Iowa Space Grant Consortium is primarily funded through a NASA Cooperative Grant.

Links · Log in

  • Drake University
  • Iowa State University
  • University of Iowa
  • University of Northern Iowa
  • Des Moines Area Community College
  • Loras College
  • Morningside University