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Quantum sensing of time-dependent magnetic signals with molecular spins

Matteo Lanza1,2,*, Claudio Bonizzoni1,2, Olga Mironova3, Fabio Santanni4, Alessio Nicolini3, Alberto Ghirri2, Andrea Cornia3, and Marco Affronte1,2

  • *Contact author: matteo.lanza@unimore.it
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Phys. Rev. Applied 25, 034045 – Published 13 March, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/56hv-qp5d

Abstract

Molecular spins offer a promising platform for quantum sensing, particularly in organic, supramolecular, and biological environments. Recognition of signals by these systems is of particular interest given their possible integration into more complex structures and their possible use as sensors in close proximity to analytes. In this work, we develop two quantum sensing protocols that enable discrimination between different time-dependent magnetic fields without requiring their periodicity to match the microwave manipulating sequence. These are based on the Hahn echo sequence and have been tested on VO(TPP) and VOPt(SOCPh)4 molecular spins embedded in a superconducting yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO) microwave planar resonator. We report a magnetic field sensitivity up to 2.57×10−7 T Hz−12 (with lower bounds approaching 2.87×10−8 T Hz−12) for signals with a duration of a few microseconds. Under the given conditions, the minimum signal area that can be measured is in the 10−10 T s range, suggesting a potential trade-off between the minimum measurable field, and the required signal duration and the memory time.

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Phys. Rev. Applied 25, 034045– Published 13 March, 2026
  • Received 17 September 2025
  • Revised 8 January 2026
  • Accepted 4 February 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

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