MRI of a single titanium atom
15_______
Source:
Magnetic resonance imaging of single atoms on a surface
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41567-019-0573-x
Authors: Philip Willke, Kai Yang, Yujeong Bae, Andreas J. Heinrich & Christopher P. Lutz
Published: 1 July 2019
Publisher: Springer Nature
__________________
Author information, Affiliations:
IBM Almaden Research Center, San Jose, CA, USA
Philip Willke, Kai Yang, Yujeong Bae & Christopher P. Lutz
Center for Quantum Nanoscience, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Seoul, Republic of Korea
Philip Willke, Yujeong Bae & Andreas J. Heinrich
Department of Physics, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Philip Willke, Yujeong Bae & Andreas J. Heinrich
________
Abstract
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revolutionized diagnostic medicine and biomedical research by allowing non-invasive access to spin ensembles.
To enhance MRI resolution to the nanometre scale, new approaches including scanning probe methods have been used in recent years, which culminated in the detection of individual spins.
This allowed for the visualization of organic samples and magnetic structures, as well as identifying the location of electron and nuclear spins.
Here, we demonstrate the MRI of individual atoms on a surface.The set-up, implemented in a cryogenic scanning tunnelling microscope, uses single-atom electron spin resonance to achieve subångström resolution, exceeding the spatial resolution of previous MRI experiments by one to two orders of magnitude.
We find that MRI scans of different atomic species and with different probe tips lead to unique signatures in the resonance images. These signatures reveal the magnetic interactions between the tip and the atom, in particular magnetic dipolar and exchange interaction.
_________________________________________
Scientists Took an M.R.I. Scan of an Atom, by Knvul Sheikh, NY Times, July 1, 2019
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/01/science/microscope-atom-magnetic-mri.html
Four M.R.I. scans, combined, of a single titanium atom, showing the magnetic field of the atom at different strengths.
Credit...Willke et al.
______________________
Music by Tiffany Poon: Haydn Sonata in D Major, Hob XVI:24
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3GSgVD5T4s
Tiffany Poon YouTube channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJCQQIPzVfLpZTfiKIP3KQg
https://tiffanypoon.com