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arXiv:2609.05886

Rapid and high-sensitive NV-based microwave field imaging via digital lock-in amplification for on-chip microstrip diagnostics

Zijin Fu, Yanjie Liu, Hongliang Wu, Yuchen Han, Zhengtao Wang, Haolin Li, Dezhi Zheng, Bo Zhang, Jun Zhang

physics.opticsquant-phSubmitted Sep 5, 2026• Announced Sep 8, 2026
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Abstract

High-resolution, high-sensitivity microwave (MW) magnetic field imaging is indispensable for non-destructive integrated circuit (IC) testing, radio-frequency device characterization, and spintronic research. Yet, the practical utility of these techniques is severely constrained by the pervasive challenge of isolating weak magnetic signatures from intense optical and electronic noise, which fundamentally limits both acquisition speed and detection sensitivity. Here, we overcome this barrier by introducing a wide-field imaging scheme based on an ensemble of diamond nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers, synergistically combined with digital lock-in amplification (DLA). By exploiting digital demodulation, the DLA precisely extracts the MW-field response at a specific modulation frequency from background noise (e.g., laser intensity fluctuations), dramatically improving the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Consequently, our system attains a magnetic field sensitivity of 126 nT/$\sqrt(Hz)$. Critically, the unprecedented SNR permits a pixel dwell time of under one millisecond, allowing full-field images to be acquired within seconds-more than an order of magnitude faster than state-of-the-art NV-based wide-field techniques. This combination of speed, sensitivity, and micron-scale spatial resolution (1.6 $μ$m) paves the way for quasi-real-time, non-invasive diagnostics of dynamic MW devices and integrated circuits.

Comments
17pages, 11figures

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Acta Physica Sinica•Jan 1, 2024•0 citations
High-resolution, high-sensitivity microwave (MW) magnetic field imaging is indispensable for non-destructive integrated circuit (IC) testing, radio-frequency device characterization, and spintronic research. Yet, the practical utility of these techniques is severely constrained by the pervasive challenge of isolating weak magnetic signatures from intense optical and electronic noise, which fundamentally limits both acquisition speed and detection sensitivity. Here, we overcome this barrier by introducing a wide-field imaging scheme based on an ensemble of diamond nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers, synergistically combined with digital lock-in amplification (DLA). By exploiting digital demodulation, the DLA precisely extracts the MW-field response at a specific modulation frequency from background noise (e.g., laser intensity fluctuations), dramatically improving the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Consequently, our system attains a magnetic field sensitivity of 126 nT/(Hz)\sqrt(Hz)(​Hz). Critically, the unprecedented SNR permits a pixel dwell time of under one millisecond, allowing full-field images to be acquired within seconds-more than an order of magnitude faster than state-of-the-art NV-based wide-field techniques. This combination of speed, sensitivity, and micron-scale spatial resolution (1.6 μμμm) paves the way for quasi-real-time, non-invasive diagnostics of dynamic MW devices and integrated circuits.
Abstract High-resolution, high-sensitivity microwave (MW) magnetic field imaging is indispensable for non-destructive integrated circuit (IC) testing, radio-frequency device characterization, and spintronic research. Yet, the practical utility of these techniques is severely constrained by the pervasive challenge of isolating weak magnetic signatures from intense optical and electronic noise, which fundamentally limits both acquisition speed and detection sensitivity. Here, we overcome this barrier by introducing a wide-field imaging scheme based on an ensemble of diamond nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers, synergistically combined with digital lock-in amplification (DLA). By exploiting digital demodulation, the DLA precisely extracts the MW‑field response at a specific modulation frequency from background noise (e.g., laser intensity fluctuations), dramatically improving the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Consequently, our system attains a magnetic field sensitivity of 126 nT/Hz 1/2 . Critically, the unprecedented SNR permits a pixel dwell time of under one millisecond, allowing full-field images to be acquired within seconds-more than an order of magnitude faster than state-of-the-art NV-based wide-field techniques. This combination of speed, sensitivity, and micron-scale spatial resolution (1.6 µm) paves the way for quasi-real-time, non-invasive diagnostics of dynamic MW devices and integrated circuits. MAIN TEXT
We present a technique that uses an ensemble of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond to image magnetic fields with high spatio-temporal resolution and sensitivity. A focused laser beam is raster-scanned using an acousto-optic deflector (AOD) and NV center fluorescence is read out with a single photodetector, enabling low-noise detection with high dynamic range. The method operates in a previously unexplored regime, quasi-continuous-wave optically detected magnetic resonance (qCW-ODMR). In this regime, NV centers experience short optical pump pulses for spin readout and repolarization -- analogous to pulsed ODMR -- while the microwave field continuously drives the spin transitions. We systematically characterize this regime and show that the spin response is governed by a tunable interplay between coherent evolution and relaxation, determined by the temporal spacing between pump laser pulses. Notably, the technique does not require precise microwave pulse control, thus simplifying experimental implementation. To demonstrate its capabilities, we image time-varying magnetic fields from a microwire with sub-millisecond temporal resolution. This approach enables flexible spatial sampling and, with our diamond, achieves nT/Hz\text{nT}/\sqrt{\text{Hz}}nT/Hz​-level per-pixel sensitivity, making it well suited for detecting weak, dynamic magnetic fields in biological and other complex systems.
Wide-field imaging of magnetic signals using ensembles of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond has garnered increasing interest due to its combination of micron-scale resolution, millimeter-scale field of view, and compatibility with diverse samples from across the physical and life sciences. Recently, wide-field NV magnetic imaging based on the Ramsey protocol has achieved uniform and enhanced sensitivity compared to conventional measurements. Here, we integrate the Ramsey-based protocol with spin-bath driving to extend the NV spin dephasing time and improve magnetic sensitivity. We also employ a high-speed camera to enable dynamic wide-field magnetic imaging. We benchmark the utility of this quantum diamond microscope (QDM) by imaging magnetic fields produced from a fabricated wire phantom. Over a 270 × 270 μm2 field of view, a median per-pixel magnetic sensitivity of 4.1(1) nT /Hz is realized with a spatial resolution ≲ 10 μm and sub-millisecond temporal resolution. Importantly, the spatial magnetic noise floor can be reduced to the picotesla scale by time-averaging and signal modulation, which enables imaging of a magnetic-field pattern with a peak-to-peak amplitude difference of about 300 pT. Finally, we discuss potential new applications of this dynamic QDM in studying biomineralization and electrically active cells.
Nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond have precipitated profound advances in microwave detection, manifesting themselves both in spatial resolution and sensitivity. However, typical methods based on Rabi oscillations are subject to detunings due to thermal and magnetic fluctuations and/or gradients, which introduce systematic errors and render the measurements susceptible to environmental perturbations. Here, we propose and demonstrate a novel approach for determining both the magnitude and direction of microwaves, by exploiting the spectral line broadening effect in the optically detected magnetic resonance of NV centers. This method eliminates the requirement of aligning the MW frequency to the spin transitions and is therefore immune to variations and inhomogeneities of the magnetic field and temperature, providing an optimal tool for fast imaging applications. With this method, we achieved wide-field imaging of near field microwaves generated with a microscale Ω\rmΩΩ-pattern antenna with a resolution of 800\,nm. Combining with the vector detection using multi-axis NVs, a full reconstruction of the vector microwave fields is obtained. Besides, our scheme also exhibits excellent linearity over a broad range of MW amplitudes, and the scale is theoretically calculated to be more than four orders. Our results augment the applicability of diamond-based microwave devices in applications under complex scenarios, especially where large dynamic range, fast test speed, and high spatial resolution are demanded.
Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond enable quantitative magnetic imaging, yet practical implementations must balance spatial resolution against acquisition time (and thus per-pixel sensitivity). Single-NV scanning magnetometry achieves genuine nanoscale resolution, nonetheless requires typically a slow pixel-by-pixel acquisition. Meanwhile, wide-field NV-ensemble microscopy provides parallel readout over a large field of view, however is jointly limited by the optical diffraction limit and the sensor-sample standoff. Here, we present a sparse-sampling strategy for reconstructing high-resolution wide-field images from only a small number of measurements. Using simulated NV-ensemble detection of ac magnetic fields, we show that a mean-adjusted Bayesian estimation (MABE) framework can reconstruct 10000-pixel images from only 25 sampling points, achieving SSIM values exceeding 0.999 for representative smooth field distributions, while optimized dynamical-decoupling pulse sequences yield an approximately twofold improvement in magnetic-field sensitivity. The method further clarifies how sampling patterns and sampling density affect reconstruction accuracy and suggests a route toward faster and more scalable magnetic-imaging architectures that may extend to point-scanning NV sensors and other magnetometry platforms, such as SQUIDs, Hall probes, and magnetic tunnel junctions.
High-resolution wide-spectrum measurement techniques have important applications in fields such as astronomy, wireless communication, and medical imaging. Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond is well known for its high stability, high sensitivity, real-time monitoring, single-point detection, and suitability for long-term measurement, and has an outstanding choice for spectrum analyzers. Currently, spectrum analyzers based on NV centers as detectors can perform real-time spectrum analysis in the range of several tens of gigahertz, but their frequency resolution is limited to a MHz level. In this study, we construct a quantum diamond microwave spectrum imaging system by combining continuous wave-mixing techniques. According to the spin-related properties of the NV center in diamond, we implement optical pumping by 532 nm green laser light illuminating the diamond NV center. A spherical magnet is used to produce a magnetic field gradient along the direction of the diamond crystal. By adjusting the size and direction of the magnetic field gradient, spatial encoding of the resonance frequency of the NV center is achieved. The magnetic field gradient induces the Zeeman effect on the diamond surface at different positions, generating corresponding ODMR signals. Through accurate programming, we coordinate the frequency scanning step size of the microwave source with the camera exposure and image storage time, and synchronize them circularly according to the order of image acquisition. Ultimately, after algorithmic processing, we successfully obtain comprehensive spectrum data in a range from 900 MHz to 6.0 GHz. Within the measurable spectrum range, the system employs continuous wave-mixing, simultaneously applying resonant microwaves and slightly detuning auxiliary microwaves to effectively excite the NV center. This method triggers off microwave interference effects, disrupting the balance between laser-induced polarization and microwave-induced spontaneous relaxation. Specifically, microwave interference causes the phase and amplitude of the fluorescence signal to change, leading to the generation of alternating current fluorescence signals. This further enhances the response of the NV magnetometer to weak microwave signals. The method enables the system to achieve a frequency resolution of 1 Hz in the measurable spectrum range, and it can separately measure the frequency resolution of multiple frequency points with a frequency step size of 1 MHz. The research results indicate that the wide-spectrum measurement based on NV centers can achieve sub-hertz frequency resolution, providing robust technical support for future spectrum analysis and applications.