Magnetic Resonance with Single Nuclear-Spin Sensitivity

Speaker: Alex Sushkov, Harvard University

When: January 30, 2015 (Fri), 12:00PM to 01:00PM (add to my calendar)
Location: SCI 352

This event is part of the Biophysics/Condensed Matter Seminar Series.

Abstract: Our method of nanoscale magnetic sensing and imaging makes use of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color centers a few nanometers below the surface of a diamond crystal. Using individual NV centers, we perform NMR experiments on single protein molecules, labeled with carbon-13 and deuterium isotopes. In order to achieve single nuclear-spin sensitivity, we use isolated electronic-spin quantum bits (qubits), that are present of the diamond surface, as magnetic resonance "reporters". Their quantum state is coherently manipulated and measured optically via a proximal NV center. This system is used for sensing, coherent coupling, and imaging of individual proton spins on the diamond surface with angstrom resolution. Our approach may enable magnetic structural imaging of individual complex molecules, and realizes a new platform for probing novel materials, and manipulation of interacting spin systems.