Nanometer-Scale Force Detected Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Abstract
Nanometer-scale magnetic resonance imaging (Nano-MRI) has the potential to be a powerful tool to investigate and characterize materials. The goal of the proposed research program is to develop fundamentally new approaches in force-detected magnetic resonance techniques and achieve nanometer-scale nuclear spin imaging by: (1) achieving sub-attonewton force sensitivity using ultra-sensitive rf nanowire mechanical resonators, (2) generating intense pulsed field gradients greater than 10^6 T/m on the nanometer scale, (3) developing efficient spin imaging protocols using time-dependent B_0 and B_1 gradients, compatible with imaging statistical polarization. During the first year of the ARO grant, we developed a new method for nanometer-scale pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy. In the first proof-of-concept experiments, we demonstrated two-dimensional Fourier transform images of proton spins in a polystyrene sample with 10 nm spatial resolution. This new paradigm in force-detected NMR allows well-established spectroscopic and imaging pulsed NMR techniques to be applied to the nanometer scale. In the coming year, our goal is to extend the spatial resolution to be between 1-3-nm, obtain three-dimensional tomographic images, and perform high-resolution NMR spectroscopy on the nanometer scale.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2013
- Accession Number
- ADA591583
Entities
People
- Raffi Budakian
Organizations
- University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign