Microkelvin resolution thermometry at the nanometre scale

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.