High-resolution magnetic resonance spectroscopy using a solid-state spin sensor.

Area of Science:

• Quantum Sensing
• Spectroscopy
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Solid-state electronic spins, like nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond, offer sensitive detection of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signals from nanoscale samples.
• Existing nitrogen-vacancy center NMR methods achieve ~100 Hz resolution, insufficient for resolving crucial molecular structural identifiers like scalar couplings and small chemical shifts.
• Conventional NMR provides high resolution but lacks sensitivity for micro- or nanoscale samples.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate a novel measurement technique for achieving high spectral resolution in NMR using solid-state spin sensors.
• To enable analytical NMR spectroscopy on extremely small sample volumes, down to the single-cell scale.
• To overcome the limitations of current NMR sensitivity and resolution trade-offs for nanoscale applications.

Main Methods:

• Utilized an ensemble of nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond as a solid-state spin sensor (magnetometer).
• Implemented a narrowband synchronized readout protocol for enhanced signal detection.
• Applied the technique to micrometre-scale sample volumes (~10 picolitres) and thermally polarized nuclear spins.

Main Results:

• Achieved NMR spectral resolution of approximately one hertz, a significant improvement over previous methods.
• Successfully observed NMR scalar couplings in a ~10 picolitre sample volume.
• Resolved chemical-shift spectra from small molecules using the enhanced nitrogen-vacancy center technique.

Conclusions:

• The developed technique enables analytical NMR spectroscopy at the single-cell level.
• This advancement bridges the gap between high-resolution NMR and nanoscale sensitivity, opening new avenues in chemistry, structural biology, and materials research.
• The method paves the way for picolitre-volume chemical analysis and correlated optical and NMR microscopy.