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Solution nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy on a nanostructured diamond chip
P Kehayias1,2, A Jarmola3,4, N Mosavian2
1Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, 02138, MA, USA.
Nature Communications
|August 5, 2017
Summary
Researchers developed a nanostructured diamond chip with nitrogen-vacancy centers to significantly improve sensitivity for nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. This advancement enables highly sensitive NMR analysis of minuscule picoliter-volume solutions.
Area of Science:
- Diamond-based quantum sensing
- Nanotechnology for spectroscopy
Background:
- Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond are promising for nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.
- Limited sensitivity of current NV-based sensors hinders small-volume analysis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To enhance the concentration sensitivity of NV-based NMR spectroscopy.
- To enable NMR spectroscopy of picoliter-volume solutions with improved performance.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of a nanostructured diamond chip with dense, high-aspect-ratio nanogratings.
- Doping nanograting sidewalls with nitrogen-vacancy centers near the diamond surface.
- Performing 1H and 19F NMR spectroscopy at room temperature and low magnetic fields.
Main Results:
- Achieved nearly two orders of magnitude improvement in concentration sensitivity.
- Demonstrated NMR spectroscopy of ~1 picoliter fluid volumes within nanograting grooves.
- Detected 4 ± 2 × 10^12 19F spins in 1 picoliter with SNR of 3 in 1 second.
Conclusions:
- The nanostructured diamond chip significantly enhances sensitivity for NV-NMR spectroscopy.
- This approach enables sensitive detection of nuclear spins in ultra-small volumes.
- Paves the way for advanced microfluidic and nanoscale NMR applications.
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