Sub-nanometer resolution of the nitrogen-vacancy center by Fourier magnetic imaging

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates Fourier magnetic imaging achieving sub-nanometer resolution of nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond, enabling precise nanoscale spin localization for quantum sensing and biological applications.

Contribution

The study introduces a Fourier magnetic imaging method with a compact setup that achieves unprecedented spatial resolution of 0.28 nm for nitrogen-vacancy centers.

Findings

Achieved 0.28 nm localization resolution of NV centers.

Constructed a compact platform with thermal drift compensation.

Demonstrated magnetic field measurement deviation of 9 nT.

Abstract

Solid-state spins in diamond are promising building blocks for quantum computing and quantum sensing, both of which require precise nanoscale addressing of individual spins. To explore the resolution limit of this approach, we demonstrate Fourier magnetic imaging of nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond under state-of-the-art conditions. We constructed a highly compact experimental platform featuring thermal drift compensation under ambient conditions and generated a pulsed magnetic field gradient of up to 13.5 G/$\mu$m. By implementing the Fourier magnetic imaging protocol, we achieved localization of a single nitrogen-vacancy center with a spatial resolution of 0.28 $\pm$ 0.10 nm and a magnetic field measurement deviation of 9 nT. This technique holds potential for applications such as localizing spins within proteins and cells.