Dynamic widefield imaging with Color Defects in Diamond

Tremendous research activity worldwide has focused on attempting to harness the exotic properties of quantum physics for new applications in sensing, computation, and communications - a push to develop “engineered quantum systems”. Color centers in diamond have proven to be promising candidates for not only quantum computing but also for quantum sensing. Amongst the various color defects, nitrogen-vacancy centers (NV centers) could provide a platform for precision magnetometry allowing for nanoscale magnetic imaging. In this talk I will give an overview of our research towards the development of an imaging tool for mapping neuronal signals from mammalian brain cells. While the diamond quantum microscope is routinely used for measuring static magnetic fields in a wide field of view with diffraction limited spatial resolution, dynamic widefield magnetometry for the measurement of temporally varying magnetic fields has been very challenging. I will describe the first demonstration of dynamic widefield magnetometry using Nitrogen vacancy centers in diamond and its applications.