Room-temperature quantum-sensing molecular crystals grown in minutes
Abstract
Quantum sensing increasingly demands materials combining room-temperature optical spin addressability and coherent control with rapid, accessible fabrication. Yet semiconductor platforms require costly materials and specialized processing, while molecular systems often depend on bespoke synthesis or involved crystal growth. Here we apply microspacing in-air sublimation (MAS) to rapidly fabricate quantum-sensing materials within minutes. Microgram quantities of commercially available precursors crystallize on glass, in air and without vacuum or inert-gas handling. Monitored in situ, growth yields optically clear, stoichiometric single crystals of excellent quality, including plates and needles with intrinsic optical waveguiding. Donor-acceptor charge-transfer co-crystals pairing anthracene or biphenyl with tetracyanobenzene, together with localized-exciton pentacene:pentacenequinone (P:PQ), exhibit room-temperature optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR). Charge-transfer ODMR resonances reach linewidths below 4MHz, consistent with motional narrowing of mobile triplet excitons, while P:PQ supports coherent ensemble spin control with T2=0.56μs. Functionality across chemically and electronically distinct pairs establishes MAS as an accessible screen for molecular quantum-sensing materials, connecting molecular crystal engineering with low-cost, chemically tunable thin triplet-spin layers and waveguiding sensor geometries for quantum sensing and microscopy.
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BibTeX
@misc{parashar2026roomtemperature,
title = {{Room-temperature quantum-sensing molecular crystals grown in minutes}},
author = {Madhur Parashar and Guangzhao Chen and Emanuel Druga and Liang Z. Tan and Jeffrey Reimer and Ashok Ajoy},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.30899},
eprint = {2609.30899},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.30899},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Room-temperature quantum-sensing molecular crystals grown in minutes
AU - Madhur Parashar
AU - Guangzhao Chen
AU - Emanuel Druga
AU - Liang Z. Tan
AU - Jeffrey Reimer
AU - Ashok Ajoy
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/25
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.30899
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.30899
AB - Quantum sensing increasingly demands materials combining room-temperature optical spin addressability and coherent control with rapid, accessible fabrication. Yet semiconductor platforms require costly materials and specialized processing, while molecular systems often depend on bespoke synthesis or involved crystal growth. Here we apply microspacing in-air sublimation (MAS) to rapidly fabricate quantum-sensing materials within minutes. Microgram quantities of commercially available precursors crystallize on glass, in air and without vacuum or inert-gas handling. Monitored in situ, growth yields optically clear, stoichiometric single crystals of excellent quality, including plates and needles with intrinsic optical waveguiding. Donor-acceptor charge-transfer co-crystals pairing anthracene or biphenyl with tetracyanobenzene, together with localized-exciton pentacene:pentacenequinone (P:PQ), exhibit room-temperature optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR). Charge-transfer ODMR resonances reach linewidths below 4MHz, consistent with motional narrowing of mobile triplet excitons, while P:PQ supports coherent ensemble spin control with T_2=0.56μs. Functionality across chemically and electronically distinct pairs establishes MAS as an accessible screen for molecular quantum-sensing materials, connecting molecular crystal engineering with low-cost, chemically tunable thin triplet-spin layers and waveguiding sensor geometries for quantum sensing and microscopy.
ER -