Scientists Meet Scientists – TUM-IAS Wednesday Coffee Talk “Optical magnetic resonance microscopy with quantum sensors in diamond” by Dominik Bucher
Events, WCT |
On 03 December 2025, Dominik Bucher (Quantum Sensors for probing Chemistry, TUM) will talk about “Optical magnetic resonance microscopy with quantum sensors in diamond”.
Abstract: Nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond have emerged as a promising platform for nano- and microscale sensing. The electronic spin state of these solid-state spin system can be optically polarised, coherently manipulated with microwave pulses, and read out via their spin-state-dependent photoluminescence. In my talk, I will present a novel approach to magnetic resonance microscopy that exploits NV centers in diamond for optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR). The fusion of optical microscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy bypasses the conventional reliance on magnetic field gradients for spatial encoding of NMR signals, enabling real-space magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We demonstrate the capabilities of our widefield optical NMR microscopy technique by imaging NMR signals within a model microstructure, achieving a spatial resolution of approximately 10 μm over an area of ~235 × 150 μm². Each camera pixel captures a complete NMR spectrum, providing comprehensive information on signal amplitude, phase, local magnetic field strengths, and gradients. The integration of optical microscopy and NMR opens up new possibilities for a wide range of applications in the physical and life sciences, which I will discuss in the last part of my talk. These applications include imaging metabolic activity in single cells or tissue slices, analyzing battery materials, and facilitating high-throughput NMR analysis.
Related TUM Press Release: A completely new type of microscopy based on quantum sensors
Date: December 03, 2025
Time: 13:00 CET (until approx. 14:00)
Location: online
Registration: The TUM-IAS Wednesday Coffee talks are held online via Zoom. To register and to receive the Zoom link, please send an email to events(at)ias.tum.de.
THE TUM-IAS WEDNESDAY COFFEE TALKS
Every Wednesday after lunch, it's all about a new topic - current research highlights at TUM, insights into the work of our Fellows from all over the world, sometimes even topics not usually found at TUM, such as history or theology.
The talks held online start every Wednesday during TUM lecture time at 13:00 CE(S)T. Everyone is welcome - TUM researchers of all levels, students, visiting scholars, and anyone interested!
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An overview of upcoming and past TUM-IAS Wednesday Coffee Talks can be found at the TUM-IAS Wednesday Coffee Talk Overview.