22 research outputs found
Singlet levels of the NV centre in diamond
The characteristic transition of the NV- centre at 637 nm is between
and triplet states. There are also
intermediate and singlet states, and the
infrared transition at 1042 nm between these singlets is studied here using
uniaxial stress. The stress shift and splitting parameters are determined, and
the physical interaction giving rise to the parameters is considered within the
accepted electronic model of the centre. It is established that this
interaction for the infrared transition is due to a modification of
electron-electron Coulomb repulsion interaction. This is in contrast to the
visible 637 nm transition where shifts and splittings arise from modification
to the one-electron Coulomb interaction. It is also established that a dynamic
Jahn-Teller interaction is associated with the singlet state,
which gives rise to a vibronic level 115 above the
electronic state. Arguments associated with this level are
used to provide experimental confirmation that the is the
upper singlet level and is the lower singlet level.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figure
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Simultaneous mesoscopic and two-photon imaging of neuronal activity in cortical circuits.
Spontaneous and sensory-evoked activity propagates across varying spatial scales in the mammalian cortex, but technical challenges have limited conceptual links between the function of local neuronal circuits and brain-wide network dynamics. We present a method for simultaneous cellular-resolution two-photon calcium imaging of a local microcircuit and mesoscopic widefield calcium imaging of the entire cortical mantle in awake mice. Our multi-scale approach involves a microscope with an orthogonal axis design where the mesoscopic objective is oriented above the brain and the two-photon objective is oriented horizontally, with imaging performed through a microprism. We also introduce a viral transduction method for robust and widespread gene delivery in the mouse brain. These approaches allow us to identify the behavioral state-dependent functional connectivity of pyramidal neurons and vasoactive intestinal peptide-expressing interneurons with long-range cortical networks. Our imaging system provides a powerful strategy for investigating cortical architecture across a wide range of spatial scales
Tracking individual nanodiamonds in Drosophila melanogaster embryos
Tracking the dynamics of fluorescent nanoparticles during embryonic
development allows insights into the physical state of the embryo and,
potentially, molecular processes governing developmental mechanisms. In this
work, we investigate the motion of individual fluorescent nanodiamonds
micro-injected into Drosophila melanogaster embryos prior to cellularisation.
Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy and wide-field imaging techniques are
applied to individual fluorescent nanodiamonds in blastoderm cells during stage
5 of development to a depth of ~40 \mu m. The majority of nanodiamonds in the
blastoderm cells during cellularisation exhibit free diffusion with an average
diffusion coefficient of (6 3) x 10 \mu m/s, (mean SD).
Driven motion in the blastoderm cells was also observed with an average
velocity of 0.13 0.10 \mu m/s (mean SD) \mu m/s and an average
applied force of 0.07 0.05 pN (mean SD). Nanodiamonds in the
periplasm between the nuclei and yolk were also found to undergo free diffusion
with a significantly larger diffusion coefficient of (63 35) x10
\mu m/s (mean SD). Driven motion in this region exhibited similar
average velocities and applied forces compared to the blastoderm cells
indicating the transport dynamics in the two cytoplasmic regions are analogous.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figure
Diamond nano-pillar arrays for quantum microscopy of neuronal signals
Modern neuroscience is currently limited in its capacity to perform long
term, wide-field measurements of neuron electromagnetics with nanoscale
resolution. Quantum microscopy using the nitrogen vacancy centre (NV) can
provide a potential solution to this problem with electric and magnetic field
sensing at nano-scale resolution and good biocompatibility. However, the
performance of existing NV sensing technology does not allow for studies of
small mammalian neurons yet. In this paper, we propose a solution to this
problem by engineering NV quantum sensors in diamond nanopillar arrays. The
pillars improve light collection efficiency by guiding excitation/emission
light, which improves sensitivity. More importantly, they also improve the size
of the signal at the NV by removing screening charges as well as coordinating
the neuron growth to the tips of the pillars where the NV is located. Here, we
provide a growth study to demonstrate coordinated neuron growth as well as the
first simulation of nano-scopic neuron electric and magnetic fields to assess
the enhancement provided by the nanopillar geometry.Comment: 18 pages including supplementary and references, 12 figure
Nanomechanical sensing using spins in diamond
Nanomechanical sensors and quantum nanosensors are two rapidly developing
technologies that have diverse interdisciplinary applications in biological and
chemical analysis and microscopy. For example, nanomechanical sensors based
upon nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) have demonstrated chip-scale mass
spectrometry capable of detecting single macromolecules, such as proteins.
Quantum nanosensors based upon electron spins of negatively-charged
nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond have demonstrated diverse modes of
nanometrology, including single molecule magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Here,
we report the first step towards combining these two complementary technologies
in the form of diamond nanomechanical structures containing NV centers. We
establish the principles for nanomechanical sensing using such
nano-spin-mechanical sensors (NSMS) and assess their potential for mass
spectrometry and force microscopy. We predict that NSMS are able to provide
unprecedented AC force images of cellular biomechanics and to, not only detect
the mass of a single macromolecule, but also image its distribution. When
combined with the other nanometrology modes of the NV center, NSMS potentially
offer unparalleled analytical power at the nanoscale.Comment: Errors in the stress susceptibility parameters present in the
original arXiv version have been correcte
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Simultaneous mesoscopic and two-photon imaging of neuronal activity in cortical circuits.
Spontaneous and sensory-evoked activity propagates across varying spatial scales in the mammalian cortex, but technical challenges have limited conceptual links between the function of local neuronal circuits and brain-wide network dynamics. We present a method for simultaneous cellular-resolution two-photon calcium imaging of a local microcircuit and mesoscopic widefield calcium imaging of the entire cortical mantle in awake mice. Our multi-scale approach involves a microscope with an orthogonal axis design where the mesoscopic objective is oriented above the brain and the two-photon objective is oriented horizontally, with imaging performed through a microprism. We also introduce a viral transduction method for robust and widespread gene delivery in the mouse brain. These approaches allow us to identify the behavioral state-dependent functional connectivity of pyramidal neurons and vasoactive intestinal peptide-expressing interneurons with long-range cortical networks. Our imaging system provides a powerful strategy for investigating cortical architecture across a wide range of spatial scales
NV--NV+ pair centre in 1b diamond
With the creation of nitrogen (NV) in 1b diamond it is common to find that the absorption and emission is predominantly of negatively charged NV centres. This occurs because electrons tunnel from the substitutional nitrogen atoms to NV to form NV−–N+ pairs. There can be a small percentage of neutral charge NV0 centres and a linear increase of this percentage can be obtained with optical intensity. Subsequent to excitation it is found that the line width of the NV− zero-phonon has been altered. The alteration arises from a change of the distribution of N+ ions and a modification of the average electric field at the NV− sites. The consequence is a change to the Stark shifts and splittings giving the change of the zero-phonon line (ZPL) width. Exciting the NV− centres enhances the density of close N+ ions and there is a broadening of the ZPL. Alternatively exciting and ionizing N0 in the lattice results in more distant distribution of N+ ions and a narrowing of the ZPL. The competition between NV− and N0 excitation results in a significant dependence on excitation wavelength and there is also a dependence on the concentration of the NV− and N0 in the samples. The present investigation involves extensive use of low temperature optical spectroscopy to monitor changes to the absorption and emission spectra particularly the widths of the ZPL. The studies lead to a good understanding of the properties of the NV−–N+ pairs in diamond. There is a critical dependence on pair separation. When the NV−–N+ pair separation is large the properties are as for single sites and a high degree of optically induced spin polarization is attainable. When the separation decreases the emission is reduced, the lifetime shortened and the spin polarization downgraded. With separations of <12 A0 there is even no emission. The deterioration occurs as a consequence of electron tunneling in the excited state from NV– to N+ and an optical cycle that involves NV0. The number of pairs with the smaller separations and poorer properties will increase with the number of nitrogen impurities and it follows that the degree of spin polarization that can be achieved for an ensemble of NV− in 1b diamond will be determined and limited by the concentration of single substitutional nitrogen. The information will be invaluable for obtaining optimal conditions when ensembles of NV− are required. As well as extensive measurements of the NV− optical ZPL observations of Stark effects associated with the infrared line at 1042 nm and the optically detected magnetic resonance at 2.87 GHz are also reported