Optically detected magnetic resonance microscopy

Abstract

Optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) microscopy is a new type of microscopy using nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamonds. The ODMR microscope enables us to detect the magnetic-field, the electric-field, and the temperature with high sensitivity and high spatial resolution under ambient conditions. Phenomena which cannot be accessed by conventional methods, such as the observation of nuclear magnetic resonance at nano-scale detection volumes, have been demonstrated. In this article, the basics of the NV center in diamonds and the principles of the ODMR microscope will be explained, and then, applications of the ODMR microscope in a wide range of fields will be shown.