Phys.org November 7, 2022 Quantum microscopes for probing material properties and physical processes have relied on quantum defects hosted in rigid, three-dimensional (3D) crystals such as diamond, limiting their ability to closely interface with the sample. An international team of researchers (Australia, China) built a prototype quantum microscope embedding point defects within a thin layer of the van der Waals material hexagonal boron nitride. To show the multi-modal capabilities of this platform, they assembled two different heterostructures of a van der Waals material in combination with a quantum-active boron nitride flake and demonstrated time-resolved, simultaneous temperature and magnetic imaging near […]
Tag Archives: Quantum microscope
Researchers create quantum microscope that can see the impossible
Phys.org June 9, 2021 The performance of light microscopes is limited by the stochastic nature of light. Randomness in the times that photons are detected introduces shot noise, which fundamentally constrains sensitivity, resolution, and speed. Although the long-established solution to this problem is to increase the intensity of the illumination light, this is not always possible when investigating living systems, because bright lasers can severely disturb biological processes. An international team of researchers (Australia, Germany) has experimentally shown that quantum correlations allow a signal-to-noise ratio beyond the photodamage limit of conventional microscopy. They developed a coherent Raman microscope that offers […]