Advances in nano- and microscale NMR spectroscopy using diamond quantum sensors

Abstract

Quantum technologies have seen a rapid developmental surge over the last couple of years. Though often overshadowed by quantum computation, quantum sensors show tremendous potential for widespread applications in chemistry and biology. One system stands out in particular: the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond, an atomic-sized sensor allowing the detection of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signals at unprecedented length scales down to a single proton. In this article, we review the fundamentals of NV center-based quantum sensing and its distinct impact on nano- to microscale NMR spectroscopy. Furthermore, we highlight and discuss possible future applications of this novel technology ranging from energy research, material science, or single-cell biology, but also associated challenges of these rapidly developing NMR sensors.

Advances in nano- and microscale NMR spectroscopy using diamond quantum sensors

“…Within this article, we would like to introduce briefly the field of quantum sensing pulse sequences and refer to several in-depth reviews on the topic of quantum sensing for further reading 53,[55][56][57] . Left: a typical nanoscale single NV experiment in which the NV depth and, thus, the resulting detection radius is in the range of a few nanometers (commonly below 10 nm), i.e., zeptoliters.…”

“…However, more sophisticated pulse sequences have been established, extending the practical measurement time, and reaching a theoretically arbitrary spectral resolution 10,[63][64][65][66] . Interested readers are referred to excellent reviews 53,56,57 . Note that reliable information about the quantum state of the NV center can only be obtained by multiple readouts to gain sufficient statistics (quantum mechanics is intrinsically probabilistic, spin projection noise).…”