Letter

Nanomechanical Sensing Using Spins in Diamond

Laser Physics Centre, Research School of Physics and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia
Institut für Quantenoptik, Universität Ulm, D-89081 Ulm, Germany
§ Department of Physics, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
School of Physics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia
Institut für Festkörperphysik, Universität Ulm, D-89081 Ulm, Germany
# National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology (QST), 1233 Watanuki, Takasaki, Gunma 370-1292, Japan
Nano Lett., 2017, 17 (3), pp 1496–1503
DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.6b04544
Publication Date (Web): February 1, 2017
Copyright © 2017 American Chemical Society

Abstract

Abstract Image

Nanomechanical sensors and quantum nanosensors are two rapidly developing technologies that have diverse interdisciplinary applications in biological and chemical analysis and microscopy. For example, nanomechanical sensors based upon nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) have demonstrated chip-scale mass spectrometry capable of detecting single macromolecules, such as proteins. Quantum nanosensors based upon electron spins of negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond have demonstrated diverse modes of nanometrology, including single molecule magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Here, we report the first step toward combining these two complementary technologies in the form of diamond nanomechanical structures containing NV centers. We establish the principles for nanomechanical sensing using such nanospin-mechanical sensors (NSMS) and assess their potential for mass spectrometry and force microscopy. We predict that NSMS are able to provide unprecedented AC force images of cellular biomechanics and to not only detect the mass of a single macromolecule but also image its distribution. When combined with the other nanometrology modes of the NV center, NSMS potentially offer unparalleled analytical power at the nanoscale.

Supporting Information


The Supporting Information is available free of charge on the ACS Publications website at DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.6b04544.

  • Additional information on experimental methods and analysis, and theoretical models and estimations (PDF)

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Received 31 October 2016
Published online 1 February 2017
Published in print 8 March 2017
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