Realtime magnetic field sensing and imaging using a single spin in diamond

Abstract: The Zeeman splitting of a localized single spin can be used to construct a magnetometer allowing high precision measurements of magnetic fields with almost atomic spatial resolution. While sub-{\mu}T sensitivity can in principle be obtained using pulsed techniques and long measurement times, a fast and easy-to-use method without laborious data post-processing is desirable for a scanning-probe approach with high spatial resolution. In order to measure the resonance frequency in realtime, we applied a field-frequency lock to the continuous wave ODMR signal of a single electron spin in a nanodiamond. In our experiment, we achieved a sampling rate of up to 100 readings per second with a sensitivity of 6 {\mu}T/$\sqrt{Hz}$. Using this method we have imaged the microscopic field distribution around a magnetic wire. Images with \sim 30 {\mu}T resolution and 4096 sub-micron sized pixels were acquired in 10 minutes. By measuring the field response of multiple spins on the same object we were able to partly reconstruct the orientation of the field.