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Room temperature "optical nanodiamond hyperpolarizer": Physics, design, and operation.
A Ajoy1, R Nazaryan1, E Druga1
1Department of Chemistry and Materials Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
The Review of Scientific Instruments
|March 2, 2020
Summary
Researchers developed a compact, room-temperature optical nanodiamond hyperpolarizer. This device significantly enhances Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) signals using nitrogen-vacancy centers in nanodiamonds, enabling new applications in sensing and imaging.
Area of Science:
- Physics and Materials Science
- Quantum Technologies
- Biomedical Imaging
Background:
- Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP) enhances Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and MRI signals but typically requires expensive, bulky equipment and cryogenic temperatures.
- Nanodiamonds with Nitrogen-Vacancy (NV) centers offer a potential alternative for optical hyperpolarization at room temperature.
Purpose of the Study:
- To realize and characterize a miniature optical nanodiamond hyperpolarizer operating at room temperature.
- To investigate the underlying physics of an optical DNP mechanism using NV centers in nanodiamonds.
- To demonstrate the potential for low-cost, portable DNP platforms.
Main Methods:
- Utilized nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers within nanodiamond particles for optical hyperpolarization of 13C nuclei.
- Employed a compact device requiring modest instrumental conditions: low polarizing fields, low optical and microwave power.
- Investigated the hyperpolarization signal's magnitude, retention time, background suppression, and efficiency with 13C enriched particles.
Main Results:
- Achieved over 720-fold signal enhancement for 13C nuclei in diamond particles (0.86% bulk polarization) at room temperature.
- Demonstrated a ten-million-fold reduction in NMR averaging time.
- Showcased background suppression exceeding two orders of magnitude and polarization retention for minutes at low fields.
Conclusions:
- Successfully realized a miniature, room-temperature optical nanodiamond hyperpolarizer with significantly enhanced 13C polarization.
- The device offers a low-cost, portable alternative to conventional DNP methods.
- Opens possibilities for advanced quantum sensing, bright-contrast MRI, and transferring polarization to external liquids.
