Optical detection of magnetic resonance in a single molecule

Wrachtrup, Joerg; Borczyskowski, C. von; Bernard, J.; Orrit, Michel; Brown, Ross

doi:10.1038/363244a0

Cited by 317 publications

(189 citation statements)

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“…However, this technique currently requires cryogenic temperatures, which limit most potential biological applications 8 . Alternatively, single-electron spin states can be detected optically 9,10 , even at room temperature in some systems [11][12][13][14] . Here we show how magneto-optical spin detection can be used to determine the location of a spin associated with a single nitrogen-vacancy centre in diamond with nanometre resolution under ambient conditions.…”

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confidence: 99%

Nanoscale imaging magnetometry with diamond spins under ambient conditions

Balasubramanian

Chan

Kolesov

et al. 2008

Nature

1,816

1,709

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Magnetic resonance imaging and optical microscopy are key technologies in the life sciences. For microbiological studies, especially of the inner workings of single cells, optical microscopy is normally used because it easily achieves resolution close to the optical wavelength. But in conventional microscopy, diffraction limits the resolution to about half the wavelength. Recently, it was shown that this limit can be partly overcome by nonlinear imaging techniques 1,2 , but there is still a barrier to reaching the molecular scale. In contrast, in magnetic resonance imaging the spatial resolution is not determined by diffraction; rather, it is limited by magnetic field sensitivity, and so can in principle go well below the optical wavelength. The sensitivity of magnetic resonance imaging has recently been improved enough to image single cells 3,4 , and magnetic resonance force microscopy 5 has succeeded in detecting single electrons 6 and small nuclear spin ensembles 7 . However, this technique currently requires cryogenic temperatures, which limit most potential biological applications 8 . Alternatively, single-electron spin states can be detected optically 9,10 , even at room temperature in some systems [11][12][13][14] . Here we show how magneto-optical spin detection can be used to determine the location of a spin associated with a single nitrogen-vacancy centre in diamond with nanometre resolution under ambient conditions. By placing these nitrogen-vacancy spins in functionalized diamond nanocrystals, biologically specific magnetofluorescent spin markers can be produced. Significantly, we show that this nanometre-scale resolution can be achieved without any probes located closer than typical cell dimensions. Furthermore, we demonstrate the use of a single diamond spin as a scanning probe magnetometer to map nanoscale magnetic field variations. The potential impact of single-spin imaging at room temperature is far-reaching. It could lead to the capability to probe biologically relevant spins in living cells.The nitrogen-vacancy centre in diamond is a unique solid state system that allows ultrasensitive and rapid detection of single electronic spin states under ambient conditions 12 . The nitrogen-vacancy defect is a naturally occurring impurity that is responsible for the pink colouration of diamond crystals when present in high concentration. It was demonstrated that this colour centre can be produced in diamond nanocrystals by electron irradiation. Fluorescing nitrogen-vacancy diamond nanocrystals can be used as markers for bioimaging applications 15 . Such markers have attracted widespread interest because of their unprecedented photostability and non-toxicity 16,17 . It was recognized recently that the magnetic properties of such fluorescent labels can in principle be used for novel microscopy 18,19 . Here we demonstrate the realization of a magneto-optic microscope using nitrogen-vacancy diamond as the magnetic fluorescent label that moreover does not bleach or blink. Figure 1c and d show the fluorescenc...

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confidence: 99%

Nanoscale imaging magnetometry with diamond spins under ambient conditions

Balasubramanian

Chan

Kolesov

et al. 2008

Nature

1,816

1,709

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“…10 10_1012 Elektronenspins benotigen, urn ein detektierbares Signal zu erzeugen. Mit Hilfe der optisch detektierten magnetischen Resonanz (ODMR) in Verbindung mit der EinzelmolekiiIspektroskopie gelingt es allerdings, diese zehn Grobenordnungen hin zu einem einzelnen MolekiiI zu iiberspringen [3,4]. Damit werden ein einzelner (Triplett-) Elektronenspin und seine Wechselwirkung mit der Umgebung detektierbar.…”

Section: Einieitungunclassified

Magnetische Resonanz an einzelnen Molekülen (II): Kohärente Experimente an einzelnen Elektronenspins

Wrachtrup

1996

Phys. Bl.

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“…SMS has been successfully applied to spin dynamics in organic molecules [38][39][40] and proposed for sequencing of nucleotides in the DNA molecule [41,42]. Let us point out that the task of sequencing of nucleotide in the DNA molecule is an ideal one for low-temperature SMS spectroscopy: the biological essencethe sequence -is most probably not spoiled by cooling to liquid He and applying moderate laser excitation.…”

Section: Single Impurity Molecule Spectroscopy (Sms) and Single Molecmentioning

confidence: 99%

Purely electronic zero-phonon line as the foundation stone for high-resolution matrix spectroscopy, single-impurity-molecule spectroscopy, and persistent spectral hole burning. Recent developments

Rebane

2003

Low Temperature Physics

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A few examples of recent progress in the study and applications of purely electronic zerophonon line (ZPL) and its offshoots are briefly considered: new experimental values of the narrowest ZPL; time-and-space-domain holography in the femtosecond domain, and the realization of a femtosecond Taffoli gate by it; single-impurity-molecule spectroscopy, its relation to single-photon interference and to the realization of quantum computing; the promises of quantum computing compared to what has already been done in holography. PACS: 33.70.JgThe purely electronic zero-phonon line (ZPL) is a remarkable feature of low-temperature spectra of the absorption and luminescence of quite a number of various impurity centers in various solid hosts (see [1][2][3][4][5] and references therein). ZPLs can be very narrow and have very high peak absorption cross sections. These valuable properties, as well as several other features, are in close correspondence with features of the Möss-bauer g-resonance line. Because of this correlation, originating from the symmetry of the harmonic oscillator Hamiltonian in coordinate and momenta [6], J.F. Gross called the ZPL the optical analog of the Mössbauer line [7], helping considerably to popularize optical ZPLs.I must note that two main features of the optical ZPL were pointed out in [8], five years before the first publication by Mössbauer [9]. That result of this early paper, however, was not given due attention.ZPLs, as sharp and intense features in the low-temperature spectra of some impurities in solids (without detailed explanation of their properties), were found and fruitfully studied experimentally years before the Mössbauer effect. ZPL widths of around 1 cm -1 were measured in the spectra of rare-earth impurity ions introduced in proper ionic single-crystal hosts and also ruby (see [10,11] and references therein). The new wave of theoretical studies brought the understanding that even the very narrow widths of around 1 cm -1 are essentially inhomogeneous widths [1,2,5,12,13]. It was predicted that for dipole-allowed transitions the homogeneous lines should be, at liquid helium temperatures, another 3-4 orders of magnitude narrower still, i.e., the homogeneous linewidth is 10 -3 --10 -4 cm -1 » 10-100 MHz (see [5,[12][13][14] and references therein), and even a few orders of magnitude narrower yet for forbidden ones. The theoretical point, later confirmed experimentally [12,14] was that the ZPL's homogeneous width, G hom (T), tends in the limit T ® 0 to the value determined by the lifetime of the excited electronic state.This theoretical prediction stimulated experimentalists to search for methods of how to eliminate or use the inhomogeneous broadening and to utilize the precious properties of ZPLs in the frequency domain.ZPL became the foundation stone for three novel fields of modern optics and spectroscopy [3,4,15]: (1) very high spectral resolution ZPL studies of atoms and molecules as impurities in low-temperature solids (very high spectral resolution matrix isolation spectrosco...

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Optical detection of magnetic resonance in a single molecule

Cited by 317 publications

References 8 publications

Nanoscale imaging magnetometry with diamond spins under ambient conditions

Nanoscale imaging magnetometry with diamond spins under ambient conditions

Magnetische Resonanz an einzelnen Molekülen (II): Kohärente Experimente an einzelnen Elektronenspins

Purely electronic zero-phonon line as the foundation stone for high-resolution matrix spectroscopy, single-impurity-molecule spectroscopy, and persistent spectral hole burning. Recent developments

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