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arXiv:2609.04907

Microkelvin resolution thermometry at the nanometre scale

Jack W. Hart, Soham Pal, Julien R. E. Roth, Katie Ninham, Abbie H. Aleksandrova, Xander Peetroons, Soumen Mandal, Oliver A. Williams, Gavin W. Morley, Mete Atature, Helena S. Knowles

quant-phphysics.app-phphysics.ins-detSubmitted Sep 4, 2026• Announced Sep 7, 2026• 0 citations
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Abstract

Accurate temperature readings of transient events at the nanometer scale are challenging due to the low sensitivity of available sensors. Nanodiamonds containing nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers have been used for nanoscale thermometry in complex environments, including inside living cells. However, their performance has been limited by short coherence times and low photon counts. In this work, we use isotopically-purified dual-NV nanodiamonds and a bespoke quantum sensing chip to showcase an order of magnitude improvement in temperature measurement sensitivity compared with previous reports. We demonstrate robust temperature measurements with an error of 682 $μ$K, experimental sensitivities below 50 mK/$\surd \text{Hz}$ and a shot-noise limited sensitivity of 9.6 mK/$\surd \text{Hz}$. To confirm the utility of these high-performance nanothermometers, we quantify the temperature change induced by the thermometry measurement itself, specifically the optical excitation laser used to probe the NV spin state. In addition, we observe directly at the nanometre scale the transient heating caused by the exothermic mixing of dimethyl sulfoxide in water. Sub-millikelvin resolution and millikelvin sensitivity thermometry unlock the possibility of monitoring minute thermal fluctuations in living systems and assessing catalyst performance at the nanometre scale.

Comments
8 pages, 3 figures

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Accurate temperature readings of transient events at the nanometer scale are challenging due to the low sensitivity of available sensors. Nanodiamonds containing nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers have been used for nanoscale thermometry in complex environments, including inside living cells. However, their performance has been limited by short coherence times and low photon counts. In this work, we use isotopically-purified dual-NV nanodiamonds and a bespoke quantum sensing chip to showcase an order of magnitude improvement in temperature measurement sensitivity compared with previous reports. We demonstrate robust temperature measurements with an error of 682 μμμK, experimental sensitivities below 50 mK/√Hz\surd \text{Hz}√Hz and a shot-noise limited sensitivity of 9.6 mK/√Hz\surd \text{Hz}√Hz. To confirm the utility of these high-performance nanothermometers, we quantify the temperature change induced by the thermometry measurement itself, specifically the optical excitation laser used to probe the NV spin state. In addition, we observe directly at the nanometre scale the transient heating caused by the exothermic mixing of dimethyl sulfoxide in water. Sub-millikelvin resolution and millikelvin sensitivity thermometry unlock the possibility of monitoring minute thermal fluctuations in living systems and assessing catalyst performance at the nanometre scale.
Versatile nanoscale sensors that are susceptible to changes in a variety of physical quantities often exhibit limited selectivity. We propose a novel scheme based on microwave-dressed spin states for optically probed nanoscale temperature detection using diamond quantum sensors, which provides selective sensitivity to temperature changes. By combining this scheme with a continuous pump-probe scheme using ensemble nitrogen-vacancy centers in nanodiamonds, we demonstrate a sub-100-nanosecond temporal resolution with thermal sensitivity of 3.7 K⋅\cdot⋅Hz−1/2^{-1/2}−1/2 that is insensitive to variations in external magnetic fields on the order of 2 G. The presented results are favorable for the practical application of time-resolved nanoscale quantum sensing, where temperature imaging is required under fluctuating magnetic fields.
Abstract The contactless temperature measurement at micro/nanoscale is vital to a broad range of fields in modern science and technology. The nitrogen‐vacancy (NV) center, a kind of diamond defect with unique spin‐dependent photoluminescence, is recognized as one of the most promising nanothermometers. However, this quantum thermometry technique is prone to a number of possible perturbations, which will unavoidably degrade its actual temperature sensitivity. Here, for the first time, a cross‐validated optical thermometry method is developed using a bulk diamond sample containing both NV centers and silicon‐vacancy (SiV) centers, achieving a sensitivity of 22 and 86 mK (√Hz) −1 respectively. Particularly, the latter has been intrinsically immune to those influencing perturbations for the NV‐based quantum thermometry, hence serving as a real‐time cross‐validation system. As a proof‐of‐concept demonstration, a trustworthy temperature measurement is shown under the influence of varying magnetic fields, which is a common artefact present in practical systems. This multi‐modality approach allows synchronized cross‐validation of the measured temperature, which is required for micro/nanoscale quantum thermometry in complicated environments such as a living cell.
We demonstrate fluorescence thermometry techniques with sensitivities approaching 10 mK · Hz(-1/2) based on the spin-dependent photoluminescence of nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond. These techniques use dynamical decoupling protocols to convert thermally induced shifts in the NV center's spin resonance frequencies into large changes in its fluorescence. By mitigating interactions with nearby nuclear spins and facilitating selective thermal measurements, these protocols enhance the spin coherence times accessible for thermometry by 45-fold, corresponding to a 7-fold improvement in the NV center's temperature sensitivity. Moreover, we demonstrate these techniques can be applied over a broad temperature range and in both finite and near-zero magnetic field environments. This versatility suggests that the quantum coherence of single spins could be practically leveraged for sensitive thermometry in a wide variety of biological and microscale systems.
Nitrogen vacancy centers in diamond are among the leading solid state quantum platforms, offering exceptional spatial resolution and sensitivity for applications such as magnetic field sensing, thermometry, and bioimaging. However, in high background environments,such as those encountered in in vitro diagnostics, the performance of NV based sensors can be compromised by strong background fluorescence, particularly from substrates such as nitrocellulose. In this work, we analytically and experimentally investigate the use of pulsed laser excitation combined with time gating techniques to suppress background fluorescence and enhance the signal to noise ratio in NV based quantum sensing, with an emphasis on spin enhanced biosensing. Through experimental studies using mixed ensembles of silicon vacancy and NV centers in bulk diamond, as well as fluorescent nanodiamonds on NC substrates, we demonstrate significant improvements in NV spin resonance visibility, demonstrated by an increase of the SNR by up to 4x, and a resulting measurement time reduction by 16x. The presented technique and results here can help significantly increase the readout efficiency and speed in future applications of NV centers in high background environments, such as in IVD, where the NV centers are used as a fluorescent label for biomolecules.
Among quantum sensors, the single nitrogen-vacancy (NV) defect in diamond has the highest sensitivity-to-size factor. For instance, a single-NV spin when used as a magnetometer could achieve sensitivities of the order of nT/Hz, while the dimensions of the sensor are merely atomic in size. The sensitivity is limited only by the photon shot noise. One method to boost the magnetometer sensitivity to pico-tesla scales is to use many NV defect centers as an ensemble sensor [Phys. Rev. X5, 041001 (2015)PRXHAE2160-330810.1103/PhysRevX.5.041001]. However, during the absorption-emission (fluorescence) optical cycles, the NV centers transfer a portion of the irradiation laser energy into phonons and heat the diamond matrix. This results in unintended fluorescence decrease, spin resonance lines shifts, and fluctuations. Hence, the advantages gained by packing a high density of NV centers are significantly reduced. Here we investigate the heat generation of ensemble NV centers in micrometer-sized diamond under 532 nm laser irradiation and its effects pertaining to sensing applications. These investigations help us to find strategies that mitigate the detrimental effects of heating and yet permits the use of ensemble NV defects for improved metrology applications.
Direct monitoring the multifaceted intracellular microenvironment is fundamental for deciphering localized cellular behavior and function. However, performing nanoscale spatiotemporal sensing of the dynamic physiochemical environment within a live cell has remained challenging, mainly limited by the lack of robust, biocompatible method which satisfies the requirements for spatiotemporal resolution, sensitivity, multi-physical sensing capability and long-term viability. Here we present a super-resolution-based quantum biosensing approach, namely Super-resolution Multi-physical field Imaging with Deconvolution, implemented in our custom-built setup which integrates nitrogen vacancy center-based quantum sensing with structured illumination microscopy. This enables quantitative, super-resolved, and long-term tracking of intracellular physical fields, featuring spatial resolution of 136 nm, temporal resolution of 150 ms, and field of view of 180×180 μm2. We further perform super-resolution multimodal imaging in a live cell, revealing the spatially heterogeneous reactive oxygen species dynamics under external stimulation. Our work enables the dynamic assessment of localized physiochemical dynamics under super-resolution quantum biosensing. This work presents a super-resolution quantum biosensing approach by integrating nitrogen vacancy (NV) center-based quantum nanodiamond sensors with structured illumination microscopy, which achieves super-resolution multi-physical imaging within live cells.