Briegel Karl D, von Grafenstein Nick R, Draeger Julia C, Blümler Peter, Allert Robin D, Bucher Dominik B
Technical University of Munich, TUM School of Natural Sciences, Department of Chemistry, Lichtenbergstraße 4, 85748, Garching bei München, Germany.
Munich Center for Quantum Science and Technology (MCQST), Schellingstr. 4, 80799, München, Germany.
Nat Commun. 2025 Feb 3;16(1):1281. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-55003-5.
Microscopy enables detailed visualization and understanding of minute structures or processes. While cameras have significantly advanced optical, infrared, and electron microscopy, imaging nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signals on a camera has remained elusive. Here, we employ nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond as a quantum sensor, which converts NMR signals into optical signals that are subsequently captured by a high-speed camera. Unlike traditional magnetic resonance imaging, our method records the NMR signal over a wide field of view in real space. We demonstrate that our optical widefield NMR microscopy can image NMR signals in microfluidic structures with a ~10 μm resolution across a ~235 × 150 μm area. Crucially, each camera pixel records an NMR spectrum providing multicomponent information about the signal's amplitude, phase, local magnetic field strengths, and gradients. The fusion of optical microscopy and NMR techniques enables multifaceted imaging applications in the physical and life sciences.
显微镜能够实现对微小结构或过程的详细可视化和理解。虽然相机在光学、红外和电子显微镜方面取得了显著进展，但在相机上对核磁共振（NMR）信号进行成像仍然难以实现。在这里，我们利用金刚石中的氮空位中心作为量子传感器，它将NMR信号转换为光信号，随后由高速相机捕获。与传统磁共振成像不同，我们的方法在真实空间的宽视场中记录NMR信号。我们证明，我们的光学宽场NMR显微镜能够在微流体结构中对NMR信号进行成像，在约235×150μm的区域内分辨率约为10μm。至关重要的是，每个相机像素记录一个NMR光谱，提供有关信号幅度、相位、局部磁场强度和梯度的多组分信息。光学显微镜和NMR技术的融合使得在物理和生命科学中能够进行多方面的成像应用。
