U.S. patent application number 15/965175 was filed with the patent office on 2018-08-30 for nanoscale scanning sensors.
This patent application is currently assigned to PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE. The applicant listed for this patent is PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE. Invention is credited to Michael S. GRINOLDS, Sungkun HONG, Patrick MALETINSKY, Amir YACOBY.
Application Number | 20180246143 15/965175 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 49956341 |
Filed Date | 2018-08-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20180246143 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
GRINOLDS; Michael S. ; et
al. |
August 30, 2018 |
NANOSCALE SCANNING SENSORS
Abstract
A sensing probe may be formed of a diamond material comprising
one or more spin defects that are configured to emit fluorescent
light and are located no more than 50 nm from a sensing surface of
the sensing probe. The sensing probe may include an optical
outcoupling structure formed by the diamond material and configured
to optically guide the fluorescent light toward an output end of
the optical outcoupling structure. An optical detector may detect
the fluorescent light that is emitted from the spin defects and
that exits through the output end of the optical outcoupling
structure after being optically guided therethrough. A mounting
system may hold the sensing probe and control a distance between
the sensing surface of the sensing probe and a surface of a sample
while permitting relative motion between the sensing surface and
the sample surface.
Inventors: |
GRINOLDS; Michael S.;
(Cambridge, MA) ; HONG; Sungkun; (Vienna, AT)
; MALETINSKY; Patrick; (Basel, CH) ; YACOBY;
Amir; (Newton, MA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE |
Cambridge |
MA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD
COLLEGE
Cambridge
MA
|
Family ID: |
49956341 |
Appl. No.: |
15/965175 |
Filed: |
April 27, 2018 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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14423123 |
Feb 21, 2015 |
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PCT/US13/55644 |
Aug 20, 2013 |
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15965175 |
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61692077 |
Aug 22, 2012 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G01R 33/1284 20130101;
G01N 21/645 20130101; G01Q 60/38 20130101; G01N 24/10 20130101;
G01R 33/323 20130101; G01Q 70/14 20130101; G01Q 60/08 20130101;
G01R 33/60 20130101; G01Q 30/025 20130101; G01Q 60/54 20130101;
G01R 33/032 20130101; G01N 2201/10 20130101; G01R 33/022
20130101 |
International
Class: |
G01Q 70/14 20060101
G01Q070/14; G01N 21/64 20060101 G01N021/64; G01R 33/60 20060101
G01R033/60; G01R 33/12 20060101 G01R033/12; G01Q 60/54 20060101
G01Q060/54; G01Q 60/38 20060101 G01Q060/38 |
Goverment Interests
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH
[0002] This invention was made with government support under
contract number 60NANB10D002 awarded by the NIST; contract number
HR0011-09-1-0005 by DARPA; and contract number HR0011-10-1-0073 by
DARPA. The government has certain rights in the invention.
Claims
1. A sensing probe formed of a diamond material, the sensing probe
comprising: one or more spin defects configured to emit fluorescent
light; and an optical outcoupling structure formed by the diamond
material, the optical outcoupling structure configured to optically
guide the fluorescent light emitted by the one or more spin defects
toward an output end of the optical outcoupling structure, wherein
the one or more spin defects are located no more than 50 nm from a
sensing surface of the sensing probe, and a decoherence time of the
one or more spin defects is greater than 10 .mu.sec; and wherein
the sensing probe including the optical outcoupling structure is
formed of a diamond component having at least one linear dimension
greater than 1 .mu.m in length.
2. The sensing probe of claim 1, wherein the one or more spin
defects are located no more than 40 nm, 30 nm, 20 nm, 15 nm, 12 nm,
or 10 nm from the sensing surface of the sensing probe.
3. The sensing probe of claim 1, wherein the one or more spin
defects are NV.sup.- (nitrogen-vacancy) defects.
4. The sensing probe of claim 1, wherein a decoherence time of the
one or more spin defects is greater than 50 .mu.sec, 100 .mu.sec,
200 .mu.sec, 300 .mu.sec, 500 .mu.sec, or 700 .mu.sec.
5. The sensing probe of claim 1, wherein the sensing probe
including the optical outcoupling structure is formed of a single
crystal diamond material.
6. The sensing probe of claim 1, wherein the optical outcoupling
structure is formed by one of: a nanopillar, a solid immersion
lens; or via internal reflection.
7. The sensing probe of claim 6, wherein the optical outcoupling
structure is formed of a nanopillar.
8. The sensing probe of claim 7, wherein the nanopillar has a
diameter between 100 nm and 300 nm, and a length between 0.5 .mu.m
and 5 .mu.m.
9. The sensing probe of claim 1, wherein the sensing probe
comprises no more than 50, 30, 10, 5, 3, 2, or 1 spin defects
located no more than 50 nm from the sensing surface and optically
coupled to the optical outcoupling structure.
10. The sensing probe of claim 1, wherein the sensing probe
comprises more than 50 spin defects in the form of a layer located
no more than 50 nm from the sensing surface and optically coupled
to the optical outcoupling structure.
11. A system comprising: a sensing probe formed of a diamond
material, the sensing probe comprising one or more spin defects
configured to emit fluorescent light, and an optical outcoupling
structure formed by the diamond material, the optical outcoupling
structure configured to optically guide the fluorescent light
emitted by the one or more spin defects toward an output end of the
optical outcoupling structure, wherein the one or more spin defects
are located no more than 50 nm from a sensing surface of the
sensing probe, and a decoherence time of the one or more spin
defects is greater than 10 .mu.sec, and wherein the sensing probe
including the optical outcoupling structure is formed of a diamond
component having at least one linear dimension greater than 1 .mu.m
in length; an optical excitation source configured to generate
excitation light directed to the one or more spin defects causing
the one or more spin defects to fluoresce; an optical detector
configured to detect the fluorescent light that is emitted from the
one or more spin defects and that exits through the output end of
the optical outcoupling structure after being optically guided
therethough; and a mounting system configured to hold the sensing
probe and control a distance between the sensing surface of the
sensing probe and a surface of a sample while permitting relative
motion between the sensing surface of the sensing probe and the
sample surface.
12. The system of claim 11, wherein the mounting system comprises
an AFM (atomic force microscope).
13. The system of claim 11, comprising an optical microscope
coupled to the mounting system and configured to optically address
and readout the one or more spin defects.
14. The system of claim 11, further comprising a microwave source,
and wherein the microwave source is configured to generate
microwaves tuned to a resonant frequency of at least one of the
spin defects.
15. The system of claim 14, wherein the one or more spin defects
are NV defects, and wherein the system is configured to detect an
external magnetic field by measuring a Zeeman shift of a spin state
of the NV defects.
16. The system of claim 15, wherein the microwaves comprise a
spin-decoupling sequence of pulses, and wherein the sequence
includes at least one of: a Hahn spin-echo pulse sequence; a CPMG
(Carr Purcell Meiboom Gill) pulse sequence; an XY pulse sequence;
and a MREVB pulse sequence.
17. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is configured to have
an AC magnetic field detection sensitivity better than 200, 100,
75, 60, 50, 25, 10, or 5 nT H.sub.z.sup.-1/2.
18. The system of claim 11, wherein the system is configured to
have a DC magnetic field detection sensitivity better than 50, 20,
10, 6, 4, 1, or 0.5 .mu.T H.sub.z.sup.-1/2.
19. The system of claim 11, wherein the system is configured to
resolve single spin defects in a sample.
20. The system of claim 11, wherein required integration time for
single spin imaging with a signal to noise ratio of 2 is less than
5 mins, 3 mins, 2 mins, 1 min, 30 seconds, 15 seconds, 10 seconds,
5 seconds, 2 seconds, 1 second, or 0.5 second.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.
No. 14/423,123, filed on Feb. 21, 2015, which is a 35 U.S.C. .sctn.
371 National Phase Entry Application of International Application
No. PCT/US13/55644, filed on Aug. 20, 2013. International
Application No. PCT/US13/55644 designates the U.S. and claims the
benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 119 from U.S.
Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/692,077, filed on Aug. 22,
2012, entitled "Nanoscale Scanning Sensors." The contents of each
of these applications are incorporated herein by reference in their
entireties as though fully set forth.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Spin defects in solid state systems, such as the NV
(nitrogen-vacancy) defect centre in diamond, have numerous
potential applications. These applications include, without
limitation, nanoscale electric and magnetic-field sensing,
single-photon microscopy, quantum information processing, and
bioimaging.
[0004] NV-centre based nanosensors rely on the ability to position
a single nitrogen-vacancy centre within a few nanometers of a
sample, and then scan it across the sample surface, while
preserving the NV centre's spin coherence and readout fidelity.
[0005] Existing scanning techniques, however, suffer from drawbacks
that include low sensitivity, low resolution, and high data
acquisition times. It is considered that these drawbacks are due to
a number of factors including one or more of: short spin coherence
times due to poor crystal quality; too large a distance between the
spin defect and the sample surface being analyzed; variations in
the distance between the spin defect and the sample surface being
analyzed; and inefficient far-field collection of the fluorescence
from the NV centre.
[0006] For example, one known technique utilizes a diamond
nano-particle containing an NV spin defect. The diamond
nanoparticle is adhered to an optical fiber to optically address
the NV defect within the diamond nano-particle, a microwave
generator is utilized to manipulate the spin state of the NV defect
when the diamond nano-particle is placed in close proximity to a
sample to be analyzed, and a detector is provided on an opposite
side of the sample to detect fluorescence from the NV defect.
[0007] The aforementioned configuration has a number of problems.
First, while the use of a diamond nano-particle ensures that the NV
defect can be positioned close to the sample to be analyzed,
diamond nano-particles tend to be of poor diamond quality and the
NV defects therein have short spin coherence times and can be
optically unstable leading to poor sensitivity. Secondly,
fluorescent light is emitted in all directions and only a small
proportion can be detected. Thirdly, the detector is disposed on an
opposite side of the sample to the diamond nano-particle and thus
the configuration can only be used for material samples which are
transparent to the fluorescent emission. While the optical detector
could be positioned on the same side of the sample as the diamond
nano-particle, it is difficult to arrange the detector to
effectively capture fluorescent emission because the diamond
nano-particle is adhered to the end of an optical fiber which
inhibits detection of fluorescence on the same side of the
nano-particle as the optical fiber.
[0008] An alternative to the aforementioned configuration would be
to use a high quality single crystal diamond material comprising an
NV defect which has a longer spin coherence time. However, the use
of a micron scale single crystal diamond material has a number of
problems including, for example: too large a distance between the
spin defect and the sample surface being analyzed; variations in
the distance between the spin defect and the sample surface being
analyzed; and inefficient far-field collection of the fluorescence
from the NV centre.
[0009] It is an aim of certain embodiments of the present invention
to solve one or more of the aforementioned problems.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[0010] According to one aspect of the present invention there is
provided a system comprising: a sensing probe formed of a diamond
material comprising one or more spin defects configured to emit
fluorescent light, said one or more spin defects being located no
more than 50 nm of a sensing surface of the sensing probe, the
sensing probe further comprising an optical outcoupling structure
formed by the diamond material, the optical outcoupling structure
configured to optically guide the fluorescent light emitted by the
one or more spin defects toward an output end of the optical
outcoupling structure; an optical excitation source configured to
generate excitation light directed to the one or more spin defects
causing the one or more spin defects to fluoresce; an optical
detector configured to detect the fluorescent light that is emitted
from the one or more spin defect and that exits through the output
end of the optical outcoupling structure after being optically
guided therethrough; and a mounting system configured to hold the
sensing probe so as to control a distance between the sensing
surface of the sensing probe and a surface of a sample while
permitting relative motion between the sensing surface of the
sensing probe and the sample surface.
[0011] According to a second aspect of the present invention there
is provided a sensing probe for use in the aforementioned system.
The sensing probe is formed of a diamond material and comprises:
one or more spin defects configured to emit fluorescent light; and
an optical outcoupling structure formed by the diamond material,
the optical outcoupling structure configured to optically guide the
fluorescent light emitted by the one or more spin defects toward an
output end of the optical outcoupling structure, wherein the one or
more spin defects are located no more than 50 nm from a sensing
surface of the sensing probe.
[0012] Certain further aspects of the present invention relate to
sensing methods as described and claimed herein.
[0013] Certain embodiments of the present invention have improved
sensitivity, higher resolution, and lower data acquisition times
when compared with prior art arrangements. These advantageous
features are achieved through the provision of a combination of: a
small and controlled distance between spin defects and a sample
surface being analyzed by locating one or more spin defects very
close to a sensing surface of the diamond material while retaining
the spin coherence properties of the spin defects; and efficient
far-field collection of spin defect fluorescence through the
provision of an optical outcoupling structure coupled to the one or
more spin defects located close to the sensing surface.
[0014] The one or more spin defects may be located no more than 40
nm, 30 nm, 20 nm, 15 nm, 12 nm, or 10 nm from the sensing surface
of the sensing probe. Typically the sensitivity of the system will
be increased by locating the one or more spin defects closer to the
sensing surface as a field to be sensed will decrease in intensity
with increasing distance from a sample surface. By locating the one
or more spin defects closer to the sensing surface of the sensing
probe then the one or more spin defects can be positioned closer to
a sample surface therefore increasing sensitivity. Furthermore,
resolution can also be improved by enabling the one or more spin
defects to be located closer to a sample surface.
[0015] Further improvements in sensitivity can be achieved through
the provision of spin defects which have relatively long spin
coherence times due to the use of good quality diamond material
(preferably high quality single crystal diamond material). It is
not straightforward to provide such long spin coherence defects
close to a sensing surface as the spin coherence properties of spin
defects are detrimentally affected by surface interactions and/or
the processing steps required to process back a surface to reduce
the surface-spin defect distance. As described in more detail later
in this specification, the present inventors have developed
processing techniques to fabricate optical outcoupling structures
with one or more spin defects located therein close to a sensing
surface while at the same time retaining the spin coherence
properties of the spin defects. As such, the decoherence time of
the one or more spin defects may be greater than 10 .mu.sec, 50
.mu.sec, 100 .mu.sec, 200 .mu.sec, 300 .mu.sec, 500 .mu.sec, or 700
.mu.sec.
[0016] In order to provide a system which has high resolution, it
is advantageous to provide relatively few, and ideally one, spin
defect located close to the sensing surface and coupled to the
optical outcoupling structure. For example, the sensing probe may
comprise no more than 50, 30, 10, 5, 3, 2, or 1 spin defects
located close to the sensing surface and optically coupled to the
optical outcoupling structure (e.g. by locating the spin defects
within the optical outcoupling structure near a sensing surface
thereof). In the case that only one near surface spin defect (or
relatively few) are provided to improve resolution, it is
advantageous that such a spin defect has a long decoherence time as
previously described to improve sensitivity.
[0017] Alternatively to the above, if very high resolution is not a
requirement for certain applications then a larger number of spin
defects may be provided. For example, the sensing probe may
comprise a plurality of spin defects (e.g. more than 50) in the
form of a layer located no more than 50 nm from the sensing surface
and optically coupled to the optical outcoupling structure. In this
case, each individual spin defect is not required to have such a
high decoherence time to achieve good sensitivity due to the large
number of individual spin defects acting as sensing elements. As
such, sensitivity can be retained but at the expense of lower
resolution.
[0018] In certain embodiments the sensing probe including the
optical outcoupling structure is formed of a diamond component
having at least one linear dimension greater than 1 .mu.m in
length. For example, the sensing probe including the optical
outcoupling structure may be formed of a micron scale (or even
millimeter scale) single crystal diamond material. Such a sensing
probe has three advantageous over diamond nano-particles: (i) an
optical outcoupling structure can more readily be fabricated into a
larger piece of diamond material; (ii) a detector can be more
readily located relative to the one or more spin defects and other
components of the system such as the optical excitation source and
mounting system whereby detection can be achieved with efficiency
on the same side of a sample as the sensing probe; (iii) using
larger scale, high quality diamond material enables the fabrication
of better quality spin defects in terms of coherence time and
spectral stability.
[0019] A number of possible optical outcoupling structure could be
fabricated into the diamond material of the sensing probe including
a nanopillar or a solid immersion lens. Optical outcoupling can
also be effected via internal reflection, i.e. using the
macroscopic shape of the diamond sensing probe to reflect light
towards an output surface where the optical detector is located. It
is considered that the use of a nanopillar as the outcoupling
structure is a preferable option with one or more spin defects
located at a distal end of the nano pillar, the proximal end of the
nanopillar being attached to a micron scale diamond support. As
described in more detail later, processing methodology has been
developed to fabricate a nanopillar into a high quality single
crystal diamond support with a good quality spin defect located
very close to the distal end of the nanopillar. The nanopillar can
be processed to have dimensions suitable for waveguiding
fluorescent emission from the spin defect(s) located therein as
well as optimizing the number of spin defects present within the
nanopillar to achieve good resolution. For example, the nanopillar
may have a diameter between 100 nm and 300 nm, and a length between
0.5 .mu.m and 5 .mu.m. Furthermore, the nanopillar can be
principally aligned along a crystallographic axis, the
crystallographic axis comprising one of: a <111> axis; a
<110> axis; and a <100> axis. By the provision of an
optical outcoupling structure as described herein it is possible to
achieve an optical collection efficiency for the emitted
fluorescent light between 0.01 to 0.10. Furthermore, it is possible
to achieve a fluorescent photon count rate of greater than 50,000
counts/s, 100,000 counts/s, 150,000 counts/s, 200,000 counts/s,
250,000 counts/s, or 300,000 counts/s
[0020] The mounting system is advantageously configured to position
the one or more spin defects within a few nanometers of a sample
and scan across a sample surface. For example, the mounting system
may comprise an AFM (atomic force microscope). An optical
microscope can be coupled to the mounting system and configured to
optically address and readout the one or more spin defects. For
example, the optical microscope may be a confocal microscope that
is integrated with an AFM.
[0021] The system may further comprise a further source of
electromagnetic radiation to manipulate the spin state of the one
or more spin defects. For example, a microwave source, may be
configured to generate microwaves tuned to a resonant frequency of
the one or more spin defects. When the one or more spin defects are
NV defects, the system can be configured to detect an external
magnetic field by measuring a Zeeman shift of spin states in the NV
defects via microwave manipulation of the spin defects in
combination with fluorescence detection. To further improve spin
coherence, and thus sensitivity, the microwaves may comprise a
spin-decoupling sequence of pulses, wherein the sequence includes
at least one of: a Hahn spin-echo pulse sequence; a CPMG (Carr
Purcell Meiboom Gill) pulse sequence; an XY pulse sequence; and a
MREVB pulse sequence.
[0022] Utilizing the aforementioned methodology it is possible to
configure the system to have an AC magnetic field detection
sensitivity better than 200, 100, 75, 60, 50, 25, 10, or 5 nT
Hz.sup.-1/2 (e.g. at frequencies between 33 kHz and 10 MHz) and a
DC magnetic field detection sensitivity better than 50, 20, 10, 6,
4, 1, or 0.5 .mu.T Hz.sup.-1/2. Furthermore, it is possible to
configure the system to resolve single spin defects in a sample.
Further still, due to the improvements described herein it is
possible to significantly reduce the required integration time for
single spin imaging while simultaneously achieving a good high
signal to noise ratio, e.g. a signal to noise ratio of at least 2
with an integration time of no more than 10 mins (minutes), 5 mins,
3 mins, 2 mins, 1 min, 30 seconds, 15 seconds, 10 seconds, 5
seconds, 2 seconds, 1 second, or 0.5 second.
[0023] While high sensitivity magnetometry can be achieved as
indicated above, electric field sensing and temperature sensing are
also envisaged. For example, where the one or more spin defects are
NV defects, the system can be configured to detect an external
electric field by measuring a Stark shift caused by the external
electric field mixing m.sub.s=+1 and m.sub.s=-1 states in the NV
defects. Alternatively, or additionally, the system can be
configured to detect a temperature using the NV defects, by
measuring variation of axial zero-field splitting (ZFS) parameter
of the NV centres. Temperature detection can also be used to
calibrate out the effects of temperature on magnetic field sensing.
For example, the system can be configured to monitor a temperature
of the diamond material of the sensing probe so that one or more
temperature-dependent effects on the detection of the magnetic
field can be calibrated out. Alternatively, both m.sub.s=+1 and
m.sub.s-1 resonances can be measured so as to provide a feedback
mechanism for calibrating out the one or more temperature-dependent
effects. As such, the system can be configured to provide magnetic
field measurements that are unaffected by temperature by using the
m.sub.s=.+-.1 resonance transitions.
[0024] Embodiments of the present invention also provide methods of
using systems such as described herein. Such methods comprise:
movably positioning an optical outcoupling structure of a sensing
probe with respect to a surface of a sample; wherein the optical
outcoupling structure contains one or more spin defects, and is
configured to optically guide fluorescent light emitted by the spin
defects toward an output end of the optical outcoupling structure;
irradiating the spin defects with excitation light and microwaves
so as to cause the spin defects to emit fluorescent light; and
detecting the emitted fluorescent light that exits through the
output end of the optical outcoupling structure after the
fluorescent light has been optically guided through the optical
outcoupling structure. Such methods may further comprise scanning
the sample surface while maintaining a desired distance between the
spin defects and the sample surface, so as to obtain information
about the sample surface. The provision of a movable optical
outcoupling structure in combination with one or more spin defects
which can be located in a controlled manner close to a sample
enables sensing with high sensitivity, high resolution, and low
data acquisition times.
[0025] In addition to the above, it has been found that the one or
more spin defects can be reliably and accurately positioned close
to a sensing surface by utilizing a method comprising: movably
positioning an optical outcoupling structure of a sensing probe
with respect to a sample; wherein the optical outcoupling structure
contains a spin defect configured to emit fluorescent light in
response to excitation light from an optical source and microwaves
from a microwave source; and wherein the optical outcoupling
structure is configured to optically guide fluorescent light
emitted by the spin defect toward an output end of the optical
outcoupling structure; measuring a distance between the spin defect
and the sample; etching a distal end of the optical outcoupling
structure so as to reduce the distance between the spin defect and
the sample; and repeating the acts of measuring said distance and
etching said distal end of said optical outcoupling structure,
until the distance has been reduced by a desired amount.
[0026] Further still, it has been found that contamination of a
sensing probe during use can lead to a reduction in performance. As
such, a methodology has been developed to clean the sensing probe
to retain high performance. Such a method comprises: providing a
sensing probe formed of a diamond material comprising one or more
spin defects configured to emit fluorescent light, the sensing
probe further comprising a diamond nanopillar configured to
optically guide the fluorescent light emitted by the spin defect
toward an output end of the nanopillar; scanning, without AFM
feedback, a sharp tip of a sample with the nanopillar, by moving
the diamond nanopillar with respect to the sample tip; and
repeating the act of scanning, without AFM feedback, the sharp tip
of the sample with the nanopillar, until contamination of the
nanopillar is reduced by a desired amount.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0027] The drawings disclose illustrative embodiments. They do not
set forth all embodiments. Other embodiments may be used in
addition or instead.
[0028] FIG. 1A illustrates an NV centre consisting of a
substitutional nitrogen atom neighboring a lattice vacancy.
[0029] FIG. 1B shows the electronic structure of an NV centre in
diamond.
[0030] FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a nanoscale scanning
NV sensor system that implements topside collection, in accordance
with one or more embodiments of the present application.
[0031] FIG. 3A shows a representative SEM (scanning electron
microscope) image of a single-crystalline diamond scanning probe
containing a single NV centre within .about.25 nm of its tip,
within an array of diamond platforms with nanopillars.
[0032] FIG. 3B is a confocal image of red fluorescence from a
single-crystalline diamond probe.
[0033] FIG. 3C illustrates photon autocorrelation measurement for
NV fluorescence.
[0034] FIG. 3D illustrates optically detected ESR that identifies
the single emitter in the nanopillar as an NV centre.
[0035] FIG. 3E illustrates spin-echo measurements for the NV centre
in the diamond nanopillar device.
[0036] FIG. 4A schematically illustrates the fabrication of a
diamond nanopillar, in accordance with one or more embodiments of
the present disclosure.
[0037] FIG. 4B shows an SEM image of the resulting array of diamond
platforms with nanopillars.
[0038] FIG. 5A shows an NV magnetic-field image of bit tracks on a
magnetic memory.
[0039] FIG. 5B shows a similar magnetic image as in FIG. 5A, but
with the NV-sample distance decreased by an estimated 50 nm.
[0040] FIG. 5C shows optically detected ESR of the sensing NV
centre.
[0041] FIG. 5D is a line cut along white line shown in FIG. 5B.
[0042] FIG. 5E shows a model calculated NV response for the
experimental situation of FIG. 5A, under the assumption of a
simplified magnetic sample.
[0043] FIG. 5F illustrates magnetic images as in FIG. 5A and FIG.
5B with an experimental realization in which the smallest observed
domains have average sizes of 25 nm.
[0044] FIG. 6A is a schematic diagram of an experimental
configuration for scanning of a diamond pillar over a sharp
metallic tip, as well as the resulting fluorescence signal.
[0045] FIG. 6B shows a zoomed-in image of a red square region at
the location of the NV centre.
[0046] FIG. 6C is an AFM (atomic force microscopy) topography image
obtained simultaneously with the data of FIG. 6B.
[0047] FIG. 7A shows the current distribution used to simulate
magnetic bits that were imaged with an NV scanning sensor.
[0048] FIG. 7B shows the magnetic field, projected on the NV axis,
generated by the current distribution in FIG. 7A.
[0049] FIG. 7C illustrates the NV magnetometry response obtained
from the magnetic field distribution shown in FIG. 7B.
[0050] FIG. 8A shows the total NV fluorescence as a function of
sample position for an NV in close proximity to the hard-disc
sample.
[0051] FIG. 8B shows an NV magnetic image recorded simultaneously
with the NV fluorescence counts of FIG. 8A.
[0052] FIG. 8C shows a line cut along the white line shown in FIG.
8A, averaged over 7 adjacent pixels.
[0053] FIG. 8D is a fluorescence approach curve on the magnetic
memory medium.
[0054] FIG. 8E shows magnetic imaging with the same NV sensor that
was used for FIGS. 8A-8D, and with a same experimental realization
as in FIG. 5F.
[0055] FIG. 9A is an AFM image of the end of a scanning diamond
nanopillar after contamination during scanning.
[0056] FIG. 9B is an AFM image of the same nanopillar as in FIG.
9A, after cleaning of the pillar's end face.
[0057] FIG. 10 is an SEM (scanning electron microscopy) image of a
diamond nanopillar having a sharp pointed tip, in accordance with
one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0058] FIG. 11A illustrates AFM topography recorded during the
experiment presented in FIGS. 6A-6C.
[0059] FIG. 11B illustrates an approach-curve of far-field NV
fluorescence rate as the nanopillar containing the NV centre is
approached to the sample.
[0060] FIG. 11C shows a total fluorescence image reconstructed from
the datasets taken in conjunction with FIGS. 11A and 11B.
[0061] FIG. 11D illustrates measured NV fluorescence.
[0062] FIGS. 12A, 12B, 12C, 12D, 12E, and 12F illustrate
alternative embodiments of nanosensors based on spin defects.
[0063] FIGS. 13A-13G illustrate back-etching that allows the NV
distance to be further reduced.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0064] Illustrative embodiments are discussed in this application.
Other embodiments may be used in addition or instead.
[0065] It should be understood that the present application is not
limited to the particular embodiments described, as such may vary.
Also, the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing
particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting,
since the scope of the present application will be limited only by
the appended claims.
[0066] Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms
used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of
ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Although
any methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described
herein can also be used in the practice or testing of concepts
described in the present application, a limited number of the
exemplary methods and materials are described herein.
[0067] Where a range of values is provided, each intervening value,
to the tenth of the unit of the lower limit unless the context
clearly dictates otherwise, between the upper and lower limit of
that range and any other stated or intervening value in that stated
range is encompassed within the invention. The upper and lower
limits of these smaller ranges may independently be included in the
smaller ranges is also encompassed within the invention, subject to
any specifically excluded limit in the stated range. Where the
stated range includes one or both of the limits, ranges excluding
either or both of those included limits are also included in the
invention.
[0068] In the present disclosure, methods and systems are described
relating to nanoscale scanning sensors that are based on spin
defects, for example NV centres. In some embodiments, the nanoscale
scanning probes implement topside collection in conjunction with
combined AFM and optical microscope.
[0069] Nanoscale sensing based on spin defects such as NV.sup.-
centres is possible because the NV.sup.- centre forms a bright and
stable single-photon source for optical imaging and has a
spin-triplet ground state that offers excellent temperature,
magnetic and electric field sensing capabilities, as described in
further detail below. Note that in the rest of this document the
negative charge state of the NV defect will be denoted simply as
NV. Factors that contribute to the excellent performance of the NV
centre in such spin-based sensing schemes include, without
limitation, long NV spin coherence times, and efficient optical
spin preparation and readout. These properties persist from
cryogenic temperatures to ambient conditions, a feature that
distinguishes the NV centre from other systems that have been
proposed as quantum sensors, such as single molecules or quantum
dots.
[0070] FIG. 1A illustrates an NV centre consisting of a
substitutional nitrogen atom 120 neighboring a lattice vacancy 110.
As seen in FIG. 1A, the NV centre is an empty position or vacancy
110, resulting from a missing carbon atom 130 in the diamond
lattice. An NV centre is relatively insulated from magnetic
interference from other spins. The quantum state of the spin of the
NV centre may be probed and controlled at room temperature. NV
centres in diamond, as well as systems involving other types of
defects in solid state lattices, can provide electronic spins that
have very little interaction with the background lattice. Such
electronic spins are optically detectable with unique optical
signatures. NV centres are visible as red spots when illuminated by
laser.
[0071] FIG. 1B shows the electronic structure of an NV centre in
diamond. As seen in FIG. 1B, the NV centre's ground state is
paramagnetic and a spin one (S=1) triplet. The ground state of the
NV centre is split into m.sub.s=0 and doubly degenerate
m.sub.s=.+-.1 sublevels, with a .DELTA.=2.87 GHz crystal field
splitting. The NV centre emits fluorescent radiation from its
transitions between the electronic ground and excited states. The
electronic transition is spin preserving, and the m.sub.s=0
transition is brighter than the m.sub.s=.+-.1 transition. Microwave
excitation at the resonance frequency causes a fluorescence drop,
allowing the resonance frequency to be measured by fluorescence
measurement.
[0072] A static external field causes a Zeeman shift between
m.sub.s=+1 and m.sub.s=-1 states, which is determined by a
gyromagnetic ratio .gamma.=2.8 MHz/G. The degeneracy of the
m.sub.s=.+-.1 states is thus lifted, under the external field, and
the electron paramagnetic resonance spectrum contains two resonance
lines, one shifted to the higher and the other shifted to the lower
frequency. By measuring the two shifted resonance frequencies and
their difference .delta..omega., the magnitude of the external
field can be calculated.
[0073] As well as being able to detect magnetic fields using the NV
defect it has also been shown that it can be used to measure
temperature (Phys. Rev. X 2, 031001 (2012)) and electric fields
(Nature Physics Volume 7, Pages 459-463 (2011)). This could have a
wide range of uses when combined with certain embodiments of the
present invention. For example detection of the electric field,
magnetic field and temperature in a biological specimen.
[0074] It is know in the art that the axial zero-field splitting
(ZFS) parameter, D (2.87 GHz), varies significantly with
temperature which provides a technical challenge for
room-temperature diamond magnetometry as described in (Phys. Rev. B
82, 201202(R) (2010)). This property can be used in order to deduce
temperature i.e. in this invention a nano-scale temperature sensor.
For accurate B-field sensing it may be desirable circumvent this
temperature effect. Such methods might include: 1) a temperature
sensor to monitor the temperature of the diamond which the allows
the effect of temperature to be calibrated out; 2) Measurement of
both the m.sub.s=.+-.1 resonances to provide a feedback mechanism
for controlling this; and 3) Use of the m.sub.s=.+-.1 resonances
transitions to provide the magnetic field measurement (opposed to
the transition between the m.sub.s=0 and m.sub.s=.+-.1) which are
unaffected by temperature.
[0075] These methods to negate the effects of temperature variances
during measurement combined with certain embodiments of the present
invention allow for an improved sensing device.
[0076] An electric field at the NV centre can mix the m.sub.s=+1
and m.sub.s=-1 states, causing a shift in its ZFS. Under the
presence of small magnetic fields (compared to the NV centre's
strain), this shift comprises a (linear) Stark shift, which can be
measured with high sensitivity. For this particular embodiment, AC
electric field sensitivities ranging from 50 to 200
Vcm.sup.-1Hz.sup.-1/2 are achievable. For sensitivities in this
range (e.g. 120 Vcm.sup.-1Hz.sup.-1/2), within 1 second of
integration time, a field equivalent to 0.01 electron charges at a
distance of 10 nm could be detected (signal to noise of 1).
[0077] Variations in temperature at the NV centre induce changes in
the lattice constant which modify the local crystal field at the NV
centre and shift the ZFS. Thus, by measuring the ZFS the NV centre
additionally can operate as a sensitive thermometer. For this
specified embodiment, the temperature can be measured with a
sensitivity ranging from 0.2 to 0.8 KHz.sup.-1/2
[0078] Due to the above-described optical and magnetic properties
of NV centres, NV centres can be used as sensor probes. In order
for an NV centre to be a useful probe, the NV centre must be
positioned with nanometer accuracy, while simultaneously its
fluorescence is being measured. This can be achieved by using NV
centres as sensor probes in conjunction with AFM methods combined
with optical microscopy.
[0079] While some success has been achieved at implementing
scanning NV sensors using diamond nanocrystals grafted onto
scanning AFM probe tips, these approaches suffer from the poor
sensing performance of nanocrystal-based NV centres, for which the
spin coherence times are typically orders of magnitude shorter than
for NV centres in bulk diamond.
[0080] In the present application, NV sensors are disclosed that
use a diamond nanopillar as the scanning probe of an AFM, with an
individual NV within a few nanometers of its distal end.
[0081] The NV might be placed through one or some combination of
implantation, as grown, formed through irradiation and
annealing.
[0082] FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a nanoscale scanning
NV sensor system 200 that allows for topside collection, in
accordance with one or more embodiments of the present application.
The system 200 includes a monolithic scanning NV sensor that uses a
diamond nanopillar 210 as the scanning probe, with an individual NV
centre 208 artificially created at a small distance, for example
about 25 nm, from a distal end of the diamond nanopillar.
[0083] The system 200 includes a combined AFM 202 and optical
microscope, i.e. an AFM 202 that is used together with the optical
microscope. In some embodiments, the AEM 202 and the optical
microscope may be integrated into a single instrument. In the
illustrated embodiment, the optical microscope is a confocal
microscope including a confocal microscope objective 222.
[0084] The AFM 202 includes a diamond nanopillar 210 attached to a
diamond cantilever 203 of the AFM 202. The diamond cantilever 203
may be attached to a positioning system 207, which for example may
include a moveable stage on which a sample 209 can be placed, as
shown in FIG. 2. The diamond nanopillar 210 is thus movably
positioned relative to a surface of the sample 209, so that the
sample surface can be scanned by the diamond nanopillar 210 using
AFM feedback. In some embodiments, the positioning system 207 may
include 3-axis piezoelectric positioners configured to position the
sample and the AFM head with respect to a fixed optical axis of the
optical microscope.
[0085] In some embodiments, micro-meter thin, single-crystalline
diamond slabs 215 are fabricated to produce the diamond nanopillar
210. As described in further detail in conjunction with FIG. 4A
below, the diamond nanopillar 210 can be fabricated so as to
contain a single NV centre 208, which can be brought within a few
tens of nanometers of target samples 209.
[0086] The diamond nanopillar 210 has an elongated configuration
and includes a distal end 214 that can be positioned directly
opposite a sample surface, and a proximal end 216 to be coupled to
the AFM cantilever 203. The diamond nanopillar 210 is thus
configured to optically guide the fluorescence emitted by the NV
centre 208, in a direction generally extending from the distal end
214 toward the proximal end 216.
[0087] In the illustrated embodiment, the size of the diamond
nanopillar 210 is about 200 nm in diameter, which optimizes the
above-described optical waveguiding by the diamond nanopillar.
Other embodiments may use different sizes for the diamond
nanopillar 210, for example nanopillars that are less than 200 nm
in diameter. In the illustrated embodiment, the size of the diamond
cantilever 203 may be about 4 .mu.m.times.30 .mu.m in lateral
dimensions, and about 2 .mu.m in height. Other embodiments may use
different sizes for the diamond cantilever, for example diamond
cantilevers that have larger, or smaller, lateral dimensions and/or
height.
[0088] The system 200 further includes an optical source 220
configured to generate excitation light that causes emission of
fluorescent light from the color centres when applied thereto. In
the illustrated embodiment, the optical source 220 is a 532-nm
excitation laser. In other embodiments, different types of optical
sources can be used. For example, the optical source may be a laser
or an LED tunable to a wavelength less than 637 nm.
[0089] The microwave source 230 is configured to generate pulses of
microwave radiation and to apply the microwave pulses to the NV
centre 208. In some embodiments, the microwave source 230 is
configured to apply to the NV centre microwave pulses tuned at the
resonance frequency of the NV centre 208, during excitation of the
NV centre by the laser light from the laser 220, and during
scanning of the sample surface by the diamond nanopillar 210.
[0090] The microwave source may be configured to apply to the NV
centre microwave pulses that allow for precession of the electronic
spin of the NV centre about an external magnetic field to be
sensed, the frequency of the precession being linearly related to
the magnetic field by the Zeeman shift of the energy levels of the
electronic spin, so that a strength of the external magnetic field
can be determined from the measured Zeeman shift.
[0091] The microwave source may be configured to apply to the NV
centre microwave pulses so that a strength of the external electric
field can be determined from a measured shift in the energy levels
of the electronic spin of the NV centre.
[0092] In some embodiments of the present application, topside
collection is implemented. In these embodiments, the optical
fluorescence from the NV centre 208 is read out from the topside of
the cantilever 203 and thus through the entire nanopillar 210. In
other words, the fluorescence emitted by the NV centre 208 is
detected by the optical detector 240 after the fluorescent light
from the NV centre 208 has been optically guided throughout the
length of the diamond nanopillar 210 and exits through the proximal
end 216 of the diamond nanopillar 210.
[0093] Topside readout allows for significantly improved
performance of the NV sensor system 100. For example, topside
readout allows the study of samples that are non-transparent to the
fluorescence radiation from the NV centre 208. If bottom-side
readout were used, as has been conventionally done, then the
fluorescence would be collected through the sample itself, which
severely limits the type of samples which can be studied.
[0094] Moreover, topside readout takes advantage of optical
waveguiding from the diamond nanopillar 210 to enhance photon
collection efficiency. In some embodiments, the collection
efficiency may be improved by a factor of about 5. Such increased
collection efficiency leads to an increased sensitivity, which is
an important advantage in many applications.
[0095] By implementing the above-described topside collection using
diamond nanopillars as described above, the excitation light,
typically green laser at 532 nm, is better isolated from the
samples. This can be important for imaging samples which react
negatively to intense laser fields, for example biological samples.
The amount of required power is minimized to saturate the NV
fluorescence due to the above-described optical waveguiding by the
diamond nanopillar 210. In some embodiments, there is a reduction
of a factor of about 10 in saturation power. In addition, as the
excitation light from the laser is focused on the waveguiding mode
of the nanopillar, far-field excitation of the sample can be
minimized.
[0096] In these embodiments, the system 200 includes at least one
optical detector 240 that is positioned so as to receive the
emitted fluorescent light that exits through the proximal end 216
of the diamond nanopillar 210, after being optically guided through
the length of the diamond nanopillar as described above. Because
diamond nanopillars are efficient waveguides for the NV
fluorescence band, very high NV signal collection efficiencies can
be achieved using the above-described topside collection
method.
[0097] In these embodiments, the microscope objective 222 is
disposed between the optical detector 240 and the topside of the
cantilever 203, as seen in FIG. 2. The objective 222 may be a
long-working-distance microscope objective 222. In some
embodiments, the objective 222 may have a numerical aperture of
about 0.7. Other embodiments may use microscope objectives with
numerical apertures that are greater or less than 0.7.
[0098] The system 200 may also include one or more dichroic mirrors
that separate the fluorescence emitted by the NV centre 208 from
the excitation light generated by the laser 220.
[0099] The AFM 202 may include an AFM feedback system configured to
control the distance between the NV centre and the sample surface.
The spatial resolution of an NV sensor is affected by the distance
from the NV centre to the sample. Proper AFM control, including
without limitation mechanical control and feedback control, must be
achieved to assure close proximity of the NV centre to the sample
surface. Bad mounting and/or improper AFM feedback control can lead
to excessive AFM tip-sample distances. In some embodiments, an AFM
feedback system, for example provided by an Attocube ASC500
controller, may be used to proper setup and tuning of AFM feedback,
which in conjunction with accurate mounting of AFM tips allows for
precise observation of desired variables.
[0100] A processing system may be integrated with the system
described above, and is configured to implement the methods,
systems, and algorithms described in the present application. The
processing system may include, or may consist of, any type of
microprocessor, nanoprocessor, microchip, or nanochip. The
processing system may be selectively configured and/or activated by
a computer program stored therein. It may include a computer-usable
medium in which such a computer program may be stored, to implement
the methods and systems described above. The computer-usable medium
may have stored therein computer-usable instructions for the
processing system. The methods and systems in the present
application have not been described with reference to any
particular programming language; thus it will be appreciated that a
variety of platforms and programming languages may be used to
implement the teachings of the present application.
[0101] FIG. 3A shows a representative scanning electron microscope
(SEM) image of a single-crystalline diamond scanning probe
containing a single NV centre within .about.25 nm of its tip. To
prepare such devices, a series of fabrication steps are performed
sequentially, including forming NV creation (e.g. through
low-energy ion implantation), several successively aligned
electron-beam lithography steps and reactive ion etching.
[0102] An important element to this sequence is the fabrication of
micrometre-thin, single-crystalline diamond slabs that form the
basis of the scanning probe device shown in FIG. 3A.
[0103] The scanning diamond nanopillars have typical diameters of
.about.200 nm and lengths of .about.1 .mu.m and are fabricated on
few-micrometre-sized diamond platforms that are individually
attached to atomic force microscope (AFM) tips for scanning.
[0104] FIG. 3B shows a confocal image of red fluorescence from a
single-crystalline diamond probe, whereas FIG. 3C illustrates
photon autocorrelation measurement for the NV fluorescence. In FIG.
3B, a confocal scan was performed of a typical single scanning NV
device, under green laser illumination, at an excitation wavelength
of 532 nm. The bright photon emission emerging from the nanopillar
(white circle) originate from a single NV centre, as indicated by
the pronounced dip in the photon-autocorrelation measurement shown
in FIG. 3B, and the characteristic signature of optically detected
NV electron-spin resonance (ESR) seen in FIG. 3C. These results,
all obtained from a same device, confirm that photon waveguiding
through the nanopillar persists despite the close proximity of the
NV to the tip of the fabricated nanopillar devices.
[0105] FIG. 3D illustrates optically detected ESR that identifies
the single emitter in the nanopillar as an NV centre. The data in
FIG. 3D were obtained at 100 .mu.W excitation power and demonstrate
single NV counts approaching 2.2.times.10.sup.5 counts per second
(c.p.s.)--an approximately fivefold increase in detected
fluorescence intensity compared to an NV observed under similar
conditions in an unpatterned diamond sample. Thus, there is a
significant increase in fluorescence signal strength from the
scanning NV and at the same time minimal exposure of the sample to
green excitation light. This may be particularly relevant for
possible biological or low-temperature applications of the scanning
sensor.
[0106] FIG. 3E illustrates spin-echo measurements for the NV centre
in the diamond nanopillar device. The spin coherence time T.sub.2
of the NV centre may be characterized using well-established
techniques for coherent NV-spin manipulation. Spin-coherence sets
the NV sensitivity to magnetic fields and limits the number of
coherent operations that can be performed on an NV spin; it is
therefore a figure of merit for applications in magnetic-field
imaging and quantum information processing.
[0107] Using a Hahn-echo pulse sequence, the characteristic single
NV coherence decay shown in FIG. 3E was measured. From the decay
envelope a spin coherence time of T.sub.2=74.8 .mu.s was deduced.
This T.sub.2 time is consistent with the density of implanted
nitrogen ions (3.times.10.sup.11 cm.sup.-2) and it can be concluded
that the device fabrication procedure fully preserves NV spin
coherence. Combining measurements of the T.sub.2 time with the
fluorescence count rate and NV spin readout contrast as obtained
above, a maximal a.c. magnetic field sensitivity of 56 nT
Hz.sup.-1/2 at a frequency of 33 kHz and, based on data in FIG. 3D,
a d.c. sensitivity of 6.0 .mu.T Hz.sup.-1/2 was obtained.
[0108] Both a.c. and d.c. magnetic field sensitivities may be
further improved by using spin-decoupling sequences and optimized
parameters for spin readout, respectively. In some embodiments,
ranges between about 10 nT Hz.sup.-1/2 and 100 nT Hz.sup.-1/2 may
be attained for the a.c. magnetic field sensitivities. In some
embodiments, a.c. sensitivities better than 200, 100, 75, 60, 50,
25, 10, or 5 nT Hz.sup.-1/2 may be attained.
[0109] In some embodiments, ranges between about 0.5 .mu.T
Hz.sup.-1/2 and 10 .mu.T Hz.sup.-1/2 may be attained for the d.c.
magnetic field sensitivities. In some embodiments, d.c.
sensitivities better than 50, 20, 10, 6, 4, 1, 0.5 .mu.T
Hz.sup.-1/2 may be attained.
[0110] FIG. 4A schematically illustrates the fabrication of a
diamond nanopillar that is used as an AFM probe tip, in accordance
with one or more embodiments of the present application. In
overview, electron-beam lithography is used to define nanopillars
and platforms from the top and bottom sides of the diamond membrane
414. Patterns are then transferred to the diamond by RIE (reactive
ion etching). Mask deposition and top-etch results in an
intermediate structure 410, which in the illustrated embodiment has
a SiO.sub.2 mask. Mask deposition and bottom-etch results in a
structure 420, which allows creation of single NV centres 416 in
each individual nanopillar 408 through ion implantation. The
monolithic diamond membrane 414 may have a thickness on the order
of a few micrometers.
[0111] In some embodiments, the structures described in the above
paragraph may be fabricated from a sample of high-purity,
single-crystalline diamond, which for example may be electronic
grade diamond from Element Six. In the case of single crystal, the
major face, i.e. that perpendicular to the eventual direction of
the nano-pillar might be substantially (less than 10, 5, 2 degrees)
from the principal crystallographic axes of {111}, {110} or {100}.
In some cases polycrystalline or HPHT type diamond might also be
suitable.
[0112] In one example the sample may be bombarded with atomic
nitrogen at an energy of about 6 keV and a density of about
3.times.10.sup.11 cm.sup.-2, leading to a nominal mean NV depth of
about 10 nm. Subsequent annealing at about 800 C for about 2 hours
may yield a shallow layer of NV centres with a density of .times.25
NVs/.mu.m.sup.2 and a depth of about 25 nm.
[0113] In these embodiments, the sample is then etched from the
non-implanted side to a thickness of about 3 .mu.m using reactive
ion etching. In some embodiments, a cyclic etching recipe may be
used that includes a 10 min ArCl.sub.2 etch, followed by 30 min of
O.sub.2 etching and a cooling step of 15 minutes. This sequence
allowed the integrity of the diamond surface to be maintained
during the few-hour etching time. On the resulting thin diamond
membrane 414, an array of diamond nanopillars 210 can be fabricated
on the top side by using electron-beam lithography and RIE as
described above.
[0114] Next, a second lithography step can be performed on the
back-side of the diamond membrane, which defined platforms to hold
the diamond nanopillars. A final RE process transferred the resist
pattern to the sample, and fully cut through the diamond membrane
to yield the structure shown in FIG. 4A. FIG. 4B shows an SEM image
of the resulting array of diamond platforms with nanopillars.
[0115] In a second example the NVs might be produced using growth
alone, or through conversion of N to NV through using known methods
in the art of irradiation (e.g. electron irradiation) and
annealing.
[0116] In some embodiments, the nanoscale NV sensor systems
described above can be applied to nanoscale magnetic sensing and/or
imaging. For example, in one or more embodiments the system 100 may
be used to sense the magnetic field generated by the spins
contained in the sample 209 scanned by the diamond nanopillar 210.
Standard spin-echo techniques may be used for coherent NV-spin
manipulation. In these embodiments, the microwave source 230 is
configured to apply to the NV centre microwave pulses that cause
the spin of the NV centre to precess under the influence of a
Zeeman shift, so that a strength of an external field can be
determined from the measured Zeeman shift. For applications such as
magnetic imaging, the microwave source 230 may be configured to
apply the microwave pulses to the NV centre 208 while the diamond
nanopillar 210 is scanning the sample surface, so that a magnetic
field image of the sample surface can be obtained by the system
200.
[0117] Using well-established techniques for coherent NV-spin
manipulation as mentioned above, the spin coherence time T.sub.2 of
the NV centre can be characterized. Spin-coherence sets the NV
sensitivity to magnetic fields and limits the number of coherent
operations that can be performed on an NV spin. Spin coherence is
thus an essential figure of merit for applications in magnetic
field imaging and quantum information processing.
[0118] To obtain information about single NV coherence decay, a
Hahn-echo pulse sequence can be used. In this way, a spin coherence
time of T.sub.2=74.9 .mu.s is obtained for the diamond nanopillar
described in conjunction with FIG. 2 above. Examples of other
decoupling pulse sequences that can be generated by the microwave
source 230 include without limitation: a CPMG (Carr Purcell Meiboom
Gill) pulse sequence; an XY pulse sequence; and a MREVB pulse
sequence.
[0119] Combining measurements of the T.sub.2 time with measured
values of the fluorescence count rate and NV spin readout contrast,
an AC magnetic field sensitivity of about 56 nT Hz.sup.-1/2 at a
frequency of about 33 kHz, and a DC magnetic field sensitivity of
about 6.0 .mu.T Hz.sup.-1/2 can be obtained for the embodiments
described above. Both AC and DC magnetic field sensitivities can be
further improved by using spin-decoupling sequences and/or
optimized parameters for spin readout.
[0120] FIGS. 5A-5E illustrate methods and results relating to the
imaging of a nanoscale magnetic memory medium characterize the
resolving power of the scanning NV sensor. A nanoscale magnetic
memory medium, consisting of bit tracks of alternating
(out-of-plane) magnetization with various bit sizes, was imaged.
The scanning NV sensor operated in a mode that imaged contours of
constant magnetic field strength (B.sub.NV) along the NV axis
through the continuous monitoring of red NV fluorescence, in the
presence of an ESR driving field of fixed frequency .omega..sub.WM
and typical magnitude .omega..sub.MW.apprxeq.2 G, as determined
from NV Rabi oscillations (not shown). .omega..sub.MW was detuned
by .delta..sub.MW from the bare NV spin transition frequency
.omega..sub.MW, but local magnetic fields due to the sample changed
this detuning during image acquisition. In particular, when local
fields brought the spin transition of the NV into resonance with
.omega..sub.MW, a drop in NV fluorescence rate was observed, which
in the image yielded a contour of constant of
B.sub.NV.delta..sub.MW/.gamma..sub.NV, with .gamma..sub.NV=2.8 MHz
G.sup.-1 being the NV gyromagnetic ratio.
[0121] FIG. 5A shows a resulting scanning NV magnetometry image of
two stripes of magnetic bits, indicated by the white dashed lines
with bit spacings of 170 nm and 65 nm. The normalized data,
I.sub.norm=I.sub.RF,1/I.sub.RF,2, was plotted, to reveal magnetic
field lines corresponding to a sample magnetic field along the NV
axis of B.sub.NV=+3 G. Additionally, a bias magnetic field of
B.sub.NV.apprxeq.52 G was applied to determine the sign of the
measured magnetic fields. The shape of the observed domains is well
reproduced by calculating the response of the NV magnetometer to an
idealized sample with rectangular magnetic domains of dimensions
corresponding to the written tracks.
[0122] FIG. 5B shows a similar magnetic image as in FIG. 5A, but
with the NV-sample distance decreased by an estimated 50 nm. The
spatial resolution of an NV magnetometer is affected by the
distance from the NV centre to the sample. Bringing the NV closer
to the sample increases the magnetic field magnitude at the NV
sensor, and improves the imaging spatial resolution, allowing the
imaging of magnetic bits, .times.38 nm in width. Approaching the NV
sensor more closely to the magnetic sample revealed magnetic bits
with average sizes of .infin.28 nm, as shown in FIG. 4B. In this
image, due to the large field gradients generated at the boundaries
between domains, transitions between magnetic field lines could be
observed on length scales of .about.3 nm. Approximate NV-sample
distances are noted in the schematics illustrating the experimental
configuration, with the sensing NV centre fixed on the optical axis
and the magnetic sample scanned below the pillar. Total image
acquisition times were 11.2 min (50 ms per pixel) for FIG. 5A and
12.5 min (75 ms per pixel) for data in FIG. 5B, with laser powers
of 130 .mu.W.
[0123] FIG. 5C shows optically detected ESR of the sensing NV
centre. FIG. 5D is a line cut along white line shown in FIG. 5B.
FIG. 5E shows a model calculated NV response for the experimental
situation of FIG. 5A, under the assumption of a simplified magnetic
sample. FIG. 5F illustrates magnetic images as in FIG. 5A and FIG.
5B with an experimental realization in which the smallest observed
domains have average sizes of 25 nm.
[0124] An even further decrease of NV-sample distance enables
imaging of yet smaller domains, .about.25 nm in width (FIG. 5F),
but with a reduced imaging contrast caused by strong magnetic
fields transverse to the NV axis, which occur in close vicinity to
the surface of the sample. One of the disadvantages of using a hard
drive to characterize the tip is that the local magnetic fields are
very large and exceed the typical dynamic range of this technique.
However, such experiments provide valuable information regarding
NV-sample distance, and consequently the spatial resolution
achieved in imaging. In particular, it is estimated that the
distance between the scanning NV and the sample to be comparable to
25 nm, based on the smallest magnetic domain sizes observed.
[0125] To independently verify the proximity of the NV to the
diamond surface, a measurement was conducted in which a sharp
metallic tip (<20 nm in diameter) was scanned over the
NV-containing pillar to image the location of the NV. The imaging
contrast consisted of the detected NV fluorescence in the far-field
changing when the NV was located in close proximity to the metallic
tip. Owing to the strong dependence of NV fluorescence rate on the
distance between the NV and the metallic sample, in this case due
to partial fluorescence quenching and local modifications of
excitation light intensity, this technique could be used to
precisely locate the position of the NV centre within the diamond
nanopillar.
[0126] FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C illustrate nanoscale fluorescence
quenching imaging of the scanning NV sensor. FIG. 6A is a schematic
diagram of an experimental configuration for a scanning of the
diamond pillar over a sharp metallic tip, as well as the resulting
fluorescence signal. FIG. 6B shows a zoomed-in image of a red
square region at the location of the NV centre. FIG. 6C is an AFM
topography image obtained simultaneously with the data of FIG.
6B.
[0127] Scanning the diamond pillar over a sharp metallic tip leads
to a bright, circular feature due to the sample topography.
Positioning the metallic tip exactly at the location of the NV
centre (shown in square), however, yields a sharp dip in NV
fluorescence. The illustration shows the experimental configuration
used in this experiment.
[0128] FIG. 6B is a zoomed-in image of the square region in FIG.
6A. The observed fluorescence quenching dip has a spatial
resolution of .times.20 nm. FIG. 6C is an AFM topography image
obtained simultaneously with the data in FIG. 6B. The scale bars
represent 100 nm displacement in all directions. Image acquisition
times were 30 min (320 ms per pixel) and 2.7 min (250 ms per pixel)
in FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B, respectively, at a laser power of 35
.mu.W.
[0129] The resulting data showed signatures of the topography of
the scanning diamond nanopillar, appearing as bright ring in the NV
fluorescence signal. More importantly, however, while the front-end
of the diamond probe scanned over the sharp metallic tip, a dip in
NV fluorescence (square in FIG. 6A and zoomed image in FIG. 6B) was
observed when the metallic tip was positioned at the location of
the NV centre. This feature is not accompanied by any topographic
features and is thus attributed to partial quenching of the NV
fluorescence due to the sharp metallic tip. The Gaussian width
(double standard deviation) of 25.8 nm of this fluorescence
quenching spot was probably still limited by the size of the
metallic tip and therefore marks an upper bound to the ability to
localize the NV centre within the pillar. Such data allow the
position of the single NV centre to be found with respect to the
topography of the device. This may greatly facilitate precise
alignment of the sensing NV centre with respect to targets in
future sensing and imaging applications.
[0130] A remaining uncertainty to the distance between the scanning
NV centre and the sample is vertical straggle in the NV
implantation process. Naturally occurring stable NV centres have
been observed as close as 3 nm from diamond surfaces, so future
advances in the controlled creation of NV centres may allow for the
NV-sample distance to be further improved and therefore the spatial
resolution in scanning NV imaging by about one order of magnitude.
Additionally, the coherence properties of artificially created NV
centres close to the diamond surface could be further improved by
annealing techniques or dynamical decoupling, which may both
significantly improve the magnetic sensing capabilities of the
scanning NVs. For magnetic field imaging, the ability to resolve
individual magnetic domains, using the above described methods,
equals the typical performance of alternative methods, with the
added advantages of being non-invasive and quantitative.
[0131] FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 7C relate to the simulation of magnetic
images obtained with an NV scanning sensor. FIG. 7A shows the
current distribution used to simulate magnetic bits that were
imaged with an NV scanning sensor, whereas FIG. 7B shows the
magnetic field, projected on the NV axis, generated by the current
distribution in FIG. 7A.
[0132] In order to reproduce the magnetic images obtained with the
scanning NV sensor, a model-calculation of the local magnetic
fields in proximity to the hard-disc sampled imaged in the
experiment was performed. The magnetic domains can be approximated
by an array of current-loops in the sample-plane as illustrated in
FIG. 7A. The sizes of the loops can be chosen to match the nominal
size of the magnetic bits on the sample, which has bit-width 200 nm
and bit-length 125 nm and 50 nm for the tracks shown in the figure.
The current was set to 1 mA, corresponding to a density of
.apprxeq.1 Bohr magneton per (0.1 nm).sup.2. These values were
found to yield the best quantitative match to the magnetic field
strengths observed in the experiment. Biot-Savart's law can then be
applied to the current-distribution to obtain the magnetic field
distribution in the half-plane above the sample.
[0133] FIG. 7B shows the resulting magnetic field projection onto
the NV centre at a scan height of 50 nm above the current loops.
The NV direction can be experimentally determined to be along the
([011]) crystalline direction of the diamond nanopillar, in a
coordinate-system where x-, y- and z-correspond to the horizontal,
vertical and out-of plane directions in FIG. 7B, by monitoring the
NV-ESR response to an externally applied magnetic field. The
external magnetic field may be applied using 3-axis
Helmholtz-coils. Slight variations of the NV orientation due to
alignment errors between the diamond crystallographic axes and the
scan directions can be allowed to find the NV orientation that
reproduce the experimental data best. With this procedure, the NV
orientation ( {square root over (2)}sin (.PHI.), {square root over
(2)}cos(.PHI.),1)/ {square root over (5)}, with .PHI.=.pi.162/180,
was found.
[0134] This magnetic-field distribution can be used to calculate
the response of the NV centre to a magnetometry scan, as described
above. For this calculation, Lorentzian ESR response with a
full-width at half maximum of 9.7 MHz, a visibility of 20% and two
external RF sources with detunings .+-.10 MHz from the bare ESR
frequency were assumed, in accordance with original experimental
parameters.
[0135] FIGS. 8A, 83, 8C, 8D and 8E relate to NV magnetometry in
close proximity to a strongly magnetized sample.
[0136] The presence of a strong magnetic field B.sub..perp.,
transverse to the NV axis leads to a reduction of contrast in
optically detected ESR and moreover reduces the overall
fluorescence intensity of the NV centre. These effects result from
a mixing of the NV spin-levels in the optical ground and excited
states of the NV centre in the presence of B.sub..perp.. Such
mixing on one hand allows for spin non-conserving optical
transitions and on the other hand suppresses the spin-dependence in
shelving from the NV excited state (triplet) to the metastable NV
singlet states. Both spin-conservation under optical excitation and
spin-dependant shelving are responsible for the non-zero contrast
in optically detected ESR of NV centres and consequently, their
suppression with transverse magnetic fields explains the
disappearance of NV magnetometry features when closely approaching
a strongly magnetized sample.
[0137] FIG. 8A shows the total NV fluorescence as a function of
sample position for an NV in close proximity to the hard-disc
sample, while FIG. 8B shows an NV magnetic image recorded
simultaneously with the NV fluorescence counts of FIG. 8A. FIG. 8C
shows a line cut along the white line shown in FIG. 8A, averaged
over 7 adjacent pixels. In particular, the raw NV fluorescence
counts in FIG. 8A were observed when scanning an NV in a diamond
nanopillar in close proximity to the sample, at an estimated
distance of 25 nm between NV and sample surface. Dark features
appear when the NV is scanned over magnetic bits that enhance
B.sub..perp., while the inverse happens when B.sub..perp. is
reduced, or the longitudinal field B.sub.NV enhanced, by local
fields. This mode of bit-imaging allows for spatial resolutions
.apprxeq.20-30 nm, as seen in FIG. 8C.
[0138] At the same time, a magnetic image recorded with the
technique described in the main text shows no appreciable imaging
contrast. FIG. 8D is a fluorescence approach curve on the magnetic
memory medium. FIG. 8E shows magnetic imaging with the same NV
sensor that was used for FIGS. 8A-8D. Only exceedingly long
integration times on the order of hours would allow for weak
magnetic features with dimensions on the order of 20 nm to be
revealed, as seen in FIG. 8D.
[0139] The rates of the two effects which lead to a disappearance
of ESR contrast, i.e. spin-flip optical transitions and shelving of
m.sub.s=0 electronic states into the metastable singlet, scale
approximately as
( B .perp. D GS - D ES ) 2 and ( B .perp. D ES ) 2 ,
##EQU00001##
respectively, with D.sub.GS(ES) the ground-(excited-) state
zero-field spin-splitting of 2.87 GHz and 1.425 GHz, respectively.
Given that D.sub.GS=2 D.sub.ES, the scaling of the two mechanisms
with B.sub..perp. will be very similar. The characteristic scale of
D.sub.ES (D.sub.GS/2) for the disappearance of ESR contrast thus
allows us to estimate B.sub..perp. close to the sample to be
B.sub..perp..apprxeq.D.sub.ES/.gamma..sub.NV.apprxeq.514 Gauss.
However this may give an overestimation of B.sub..perp. as smaller
values can already significantly affect ESR contrast and NV
fluorescence intensity due to the complex dynamics of NV spin
pumping. Indeed, strong reductions of NV fluorescence rates for
B.sub..perp. less than 100 G have been observed in the past.
Transverse magnetic fields on this order were consistent with the
larges on-axis magnetic fields observed in the above experiments as
well as with the calculations of magnetic field profiles described
in this application. For the parameters used for these figures,
maximal values of B.sub..perp..apprxeq.200 Gauss for an
NV-to-sample distance of 20 nm are obtained.
[0140] NV-sample distance is an essential parameter for the
performance of our microscope as it determines the overall
resolving power with which weak magnetic targets can be imaged.
Three parameters that can affect NV-sample distance include: depth
of NV centres in the diamond nanopillars; contamination of scanning
diamond nanopillars; and AFM control.
[0141] It is desirable to have NV centres controllably positioned
and close to the diamond surface, for example closer than 50 nm, 40
nm, 30 nm, 20 nm, 10 nm, or 5 nm.
[0142] The depth of the NV centres created using ion implantation
for example, can be controlled by the energy of the ions used for
NV creation. However, the stopping of ions in matter is a random
process and the depth of the created NV centres therefore not
perfectly well-defined. This straggle in ion implantation poses an
intrinsic uncertainty to the distance between the scanning NV and
the end of the diamond nanopillar. For implantation energies of 6
keV (with implantation-depths of 10 nm) as used in this work, NV
straggle has recently been shown to be as large as 10-20 nm. Since
straggle in NV implantation is hard to circumvent, it is essential
for the future to develop techniques to precisely pre-determine the
depth of a given sensing NV in a diamond nanopillar. This could be
performed using recently developed nanoscale imaging methods for NV
centres, or by scanning the NV sensor over a well-defined magnetic
field source.
[0143] The depth of NV centres produced through growth might be
controlled by the time and duration of adding nitrogen dopant gas
to the CVD diamond growth process.
[0144] FIG. 9A is an AFM image of the end of a scanning diamond
nanopillar after contamination during scanning. FIG. 9B is an AFM
image of the same nanopillar as in FIG. 9A, after cleaning of the
pillar's end face.
[0145] During scanning-operation, the scanning diamond nanopillar
can gather contamination from the sample or environment. An example
for such a contaminated diamond-tip is shown in the AFM image shown
in FIG. 9A, which was acquired with the scanning protocol employed
in FIG. 10, using a sharp diamond tip as shown in FIG. 10. Such
contamination can artificially increase the distance of the
scanning NV centre to the sample by several 10's of nm, as seen for
example in FIG. 9A. To undo contamination of the diamond-tip after
excessive scanning over dirty samples, a "tip-cleaning technique"
can allow a contaminated tip to revert to its initial, clean state,
as illustrated by the transition from FIG. 9A to FIG. 9B. Tip
cleaning may be performed by repeated scanning of the diamond
nanopillar over the sharp diamond tip (shown in FIG. 9A) in the
absence of AFM feedback. Such feedback-free scanning can partly
remove contamination from the diamond pillar, which after repeated
operation leads to a clean device as the one shown in FIG. 9B.
[0146] With proper sample-cleaning, control over environmental
conditions and occasional "tip-cleaning" runs, adverse effects of
tip-contamination can be eliminated. This, together with the
excellent photo-stability of NV centres, then allows for long term
operation of the scanning NV sensor.
[0147] Proper AFM control is necessary to assure close proximity of
the NV centre to the sample surface. It has been shown in the past
that bad mounting or improper AFM feedback control can lead to AFM
tip-sample distances in excess of 20 nm. Careful mounting of AFM
tips and proper setup and tuning of AFM feedback, which in some
embodiments may be provided by an Attocube ASC500 controller, may
therefore be essential to observe e.g. the fluorescence quenching
features.
[0148] For the experiment described earlier in conjunction with
nanopillars with a sharp tip, sharp diamond tips were fabricated
and metal coated in order to localize the NV in the scanning
nanopillar through fluorescence quenching. Diamond tip fabrication
was based on the nanofabrication techniques that we already
employed for the production of the scanning diamond nanopillars
described above. A type Ib diamond (Element six) was patterned with
circular etch-masks (flowable oxide, Fox XR-1541, Dow Corning) of
100 nm diameter.
[0149] In order to obtain sharp diamond tips instead of cylindrical
diamond nanopillars, the RIE etching recipe previously used can be
modified: while the oxygen etching chemistry can be kept identical
to pillar fabrication, the etching time can be significantly
increased, such as to completely erode the etch mask on the diamond
substrate. As a result, the etched diamond structures acquired the
form of sharp tips as shown in the representative SEM image in FIG.
10. Typical tip-radii were in the range of 10 nm and tip lengths
were on the order of 200 nm.
[0150] For the experiments described above, the sharp diamond tips
were then coated with a thin metallic layer using thermal metal
evaporation. To avoid oxidation of the metal, gold can be chosen as
the quenching metal and a chrome adhesion can be used between the
gold and the diamond. For the tips employed in this work, 5 nm of
gold and 5 nm of chrome are used.
[0151] In some embodiments, one of which is illustrated in FIG. 10,
diamond nanopillars that have distal ends with a sharp pointed tip
410, rather than a cylindrical cross-section, may be fabricated. In
these embodiments, a diamond membrane can be patterned with
circular etch-masks having a diameter on the order of about 100 nm.
To obtain a sharp diamond tip, the etching time is increased
significantly so as to completely erode the etch mask on the
diamond membrane 414. As a result, the etched diamond structures
may acquire the form of a sharp tip 410 as shown in FIG. 10.
[0152] While nanoscale scanning NV sensors have been described that
use a diamond nanopillar as the scanning probe, with an individual
NV centre at a small distance from a distal end of the diamond
nanopillar, many other variations and embodiments are possible.
[0153] In general, a nanoscale scanning sensor system may include a
solid state spin defect (for example the above-described NV centre
in diamond), configured to emit fluorescent light in response to
excitation light from an optical source and microwave pulses from a
microwave source. The system may further include an optical
outcoupling structure containing, or coupled to, the spin defect.
The optical outcoupling structure may be configured to optically
guide the fluorescent light emitted by the spin defect toward an
output end of the optical outcoupling structure.
[0154] An optical detector may be configured to detect the
fluorescent light that is emitted from the spin defect and that
exits through the output end of the optical outcoupling structure
after being optically guided therethrough. A mounting system (for
example an AFM) may be configured to movably hold the optical
outcoupling structure so as to control a distance between the spin
defect and a surface of a sample while permitting relative motion
between the optical outcoupling structure and the sample surface.
An optical microscope may be coupled to the mounting system and
configured to optically address and readout the spin defect.
[0155] The optical outcoupling structure may be movably
positionable relative to the sample surface so that the sample
surface can be scanned by the optical outcoupling structure while
the excitation light and the microwaves are being applied to the
spin defect.
[0156] In some embodiments, the optical outcoupling structure may
be a single-crystal diamond membrane. In some embodiments, the
optical outcoupling structure may be a diamond nanopillar as
described above.
[0157] In some embodiments, the distance between the output end of
the optical outcoupling structure and the spin defect may be
preferably less than 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, or 5 nm.
[0158] In some embodiments, the distance between the output end of
the optical outcoupling structure and the spin defect may be about
1 .mu.m. In some embodiments, the distance between the output end
of the optical outcoupling structure and the spin defect may be
between 0.5 .mu.m and 10 .mu.m.
[0159] In some embodiments, the optical outcoupling structure may
have a diameter between 100 nm and 300 nm, and a length between 0.5
.mu.m and 5 .mu.m.
[0160] FIGS. 12A, 12B, 12C, 12D, 12E, and 12F illustrate
alternative embodiments of nanosensors based on spin defects. FIG.
12A illustrates an optical outcoupling structure based on single
crystal diamond. FIG. 12B illustrates an AFM-based set up as
described in earlier paragraphs, but with an NV centre formed in
monolithic diamond, with no nanopillar, and using total internal
reflection to direct the fluorescence towards the detector.
[0161] The embodiment illustrated in FIG. 12C likewise does not
include a nanopillar. Rather, the optical outcoupling structure in
FIG. 12C likewise is based on single crystal diamond, and includes
an SIL (solid immersion lens) in the optical path of the NV centre.
The SIL might be processed in the diamond, or be a separate diamond
SIL attached or a SIL fabricated in another material. FIG. 12D
illustrates an alternative geometry, again based on monolithic
diamond and not including a nanopillar, but using total internal
reflection to direct the fluorescence towards the detector. FIG.
12E illustrates a configuration in which the optical outcoupling
structure can be mounted without a cantilever. In FIG. 12F, the NV
centre is formed using as-grown nitrogen vacancy defects within the
diamond material or nitrogen-vacancy defects formed by conversion
of as-grown nitrogen into nitrogen vacancy defects by irradiation
and annealing (rather than via ion-implanted nitrogen).
[0162] FIGS. 13A-13G illustrate back-etching that allows the NV
distance to be further reduced. As described above, one of the most
important parameters of an NV-based scanning magnetometer is the
distance between the NV centre and the end of the tip of the
scanning probe it is attached to.
[0163] This distance is important because it sets a lower bound for
the achieved spatial resolution in magnetic imaging. Further,
magnetic field strengths typically fall off rapidly with distance,
so for a given magnetic sensitivity, data acquisition times fall
off rapidly with decreasing distance. When measuring magnetic
dipole fields, such as those from a single spin, the strength of
the field falls with the cube of distance. Since the
signal-to-noise of measurements goes as the square-root of
integration time, the needed data acquisition time thus scales with
distance to the inverse power of six (d.sup.-6)--i.e. if the
NV-to-target distance can be reduced by a factor of two, the needed
integration time decreases by a factor of 64.
[0164] In order to optimize the performance of NV magnetometers, it
is therefore important to minimize the distance between the NV
defect and the end of scanning tip, for example the distal end (or
output end) of the nanopillar. An established method for creating
shallow NV centres is through nitrogen implantation and subsequent
annealing. The stochastic nature of this method, however, leads to
an a priori unknown NV-sample distance for a given device
containing a single NV centre. Moreover, NV yield and quality fall
off rapidly with implanted distance depth, and so the NV centres
cannot be brought arbitrarily close to the sample surface.
[0165] In some embodiments, to achieve acceptable yields and
magnetic sensitivities, nitrogen may be implanted with 6 keV energy
at a dose of 3e.sup.11 N/cm.sup.2. An implantation energy of 6 keV
nominally forms a layer depth of 10 nm below the surface. The
experimental methods described above indicate, however, an average
depth of roughly 25 nm.
[0166] In some embodiments, to reduce the NV-to-sample distance a
back-etching method may be used which iterates between accurately
measuring the NV-to-sample distance and then carefully etching away
the very end of the diamond probe. With this scheme this distance
may be reduced significantly, e.g. by a factor of 2.3. Importantly,
the spin properties of the NV sensor were maintained during this
reduction (T.sub.1, T.sub.2, NV contrast, NV counts), so the NV
sensitivity was preserved during the etch. Thus, the required
integration time for single-spin imaging was reduced by a factor of
roughly 140. The achieved single spin imaging could achieve a
signal-to-noise ratio of 1 in 2 minutes of integration time. With
this back-etching, the imaging may now be performed in roughly 1
second of integration time. This is an important part of this
invention such that a signal to noise ratio of two for a single
spin is achieved for an experimental integration of time of
preferably less than 10 mins, 5 mins, 3 mins, 2 mins, 1 min, 30
seconds, 15 seconds, 10 seconds, 5 seconds, 2 seconds, 1 second,
0.5 second.
[0167] To measure the distance between the NV and the end of the
scanning tip, in some embodiments a method may be used that is
based on measuring the extent of fluorescence quenching into a
graphene monolayer. When an optical emitter, such as an NV centre
or other spin defect, is brought into close proximity of a metal
(typically within tens of nanometers) instead of emitting into the
optical far-field, some fluorescence is emitted into the metal,
creating either plasmons or electron-hole pairs.
[0168] Typically, this fluorescence quenching changes rapidly with
distance (proportional to d.sup.-4), and so is a very sensitive
measure of distance. If a graphene layer is used as the metal,
because its AC conductivity is well known, the calibration between
distance and the quenching amount can be quantified, which allows
for a precise determination of distance. In practice, this is
achieved by measuring the fluorescence from the NV centre away from
a graphene flake, and then comparing how much the fluorescence
decreases after it is scanned over a graphene monolayer flake.
Typically the graphene flake is separated laterally, so it is still
on the substrate.
[0169] With the NV-to-sample distance determined, the end of the
nanopillar tip can be etched without fear of etching away the NV
centre itself. In some embodiments, a process for doing this etch
may be used that satisfies a few criteria: 1) The etch is slow
enough to controllably etch in few (.about.1-3) nanometer steps; 2)
The etch will not adversely influence the charge state of the NV by
changing the surface termination (typically oxygen terminated); and
3) The etching process works at a low temperature, because the etch
is performed after measuring the NV-to-sample distance, the NV
sensor is mounted on a scanning probe which uses a series of glues
that cannot survive processing above .about.150 degrees
Celsius.
[0170] In some embodiments, this process uses a weak oxygen plasma.
FIG. 13A illustrates reducing of the NV distance via oxygen plasma.
The RF power may be about 100 W, or in other alternatively may be
in the range of 50-150 W, with a low-bias power. The low-bias power
may be <50 W. In some embodiments, the low-bias power may be 0
W.
[0171] FIG. 13B illustrates etching on diamond tips. As indicated
in FIG. 13B, etching 37.5 minutes yields nearly 50% quenching. The
above-described etch process may be performed for up to .about.20
minutes at a time. Longer times may generate excess heating, which
may melt the glues that are used. FIG. 13C illustrates quenching
increase after more etching. In some embodiments, etch rates of
<1 nm/minute may be achieved. These etch rates may be calibrated
by etching a region of diamond, partially covered by an etch mask,
and then measuring the resulting diamond profile with an AFM. In
some embodiments, the machine used for doing the etching may be a
Plasma stripper.
[0172] FIG. 13D illustrates graphene quenching vs. etch time, while
FIG. 13E illustrates NV fluorescence v. etch time. FIG. 13F
illustrates the ESR counts for confirming NV distance. A summary of
NV depth v. etch time is provided in FIG. 13G.
[0173] In summary, methods and systems have been described relating
to nanoscale scanning sensors with spin defects, such as single NV
centres. These sensors achieve long spin coherence times, together
with high mechanical robustness and high signal collection
efficiencies
[0174] The methods and systems described above has many other
potential applications. These applications include without
limitation optical sensors, as well as platforms for coherently
coupling the scanning NV spin to other spin systems such as
phosphorus in silicon, other NV centres, or carbon-based spin
qubits. Quantum information could thereby be transferred between a
stationary qubit and the scanning NV centre described above, and
from there to single photons or other qubit systems such as
long-lived nuclear spin qubits in the diamond matrix.
[0175] The components, steps, features, objects, benefits and
advantages that have been discussed are merely illustrative. None
of them, nor the discussions relating to them, are intended to
limit the scope of protection in any way. Numerous other
embodiments are also contemplated, including embodiments that have
fewer, additional, and/or different components, steps, features,
objects, benefits and advantages. The components and steps may also
be arranged and ordered differently.
[0176] Nothing that has been stated or illustrated is intended to
cause a dedication of any component, step, feature, object,
benefit, advantage, or equivalent to the public. While the
specification describes particular embodiments of the present
disclosure, those of ordinary skill can devise variations of the
present disclosure without departing from the inventive concepts
disclosed in the disclosure.
[0177] While certain embodiments have been described, it is to be
understood that the concepts implicit in these embodiments may be
used in other embodiments as well. In the present disclosure,
reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean
"one and only one" unless specifically so stated, but rather "one
or more." All structural and functional equivalents to the elements
of the various embodiments described throughout this disclosure,
known or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the
art, are expressly incorporated herein by reference.
* * * * *