India unveils indigenous Quantum Diamond Microscope, to aid neuroscience & materials research

New Delhi, Nov 12 (IANS) A team at IIT Bombay under National Quantum Mission (NQM) has developed India’s first indigenous Quantum Diamond Microscope (QDM) for dynamic magnetic field imaging — a breakthrough that marks a milestone in quantum sensing, the government said on Wednesday.

Announced on the sidelines of Emerging Science Technology and Innovation Conclave (ESTIC 2025), QDM can map magnetic field in 3D layers within an encapsulated semiconductor chip, an official statement said, adding that it has earned India its first patent in this domain.

The QDM was developed under the National Quantum Mission (NQM) of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) by P- P-P-Quest Group at IIT Bombay. It is based on nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centres in diamond and acts as a powerful platform for three-dimensional magnetic field imaging at the nanoscale.

"NV centres -- atomic-scale defects formed by a nitrogen atom adjacent to a vacancy -- exhibit robust quantum coherence even at room temperature, making them exceptionally sensitive to magnetic, electric, and thermal variations," the statement said.

The Ministry of Science & Technology listed the use cases, saying, QDM offers a path toward direct, high-resolution 3D magnetic mapping of integrated circuits, batteries, and microelectronic devices

The QDM has promising potential in neuroscience and materials research and can transform the non-destructive evaluation of semiconductor chips by mapping the magnetic field in 3D layers within an encapsulated chip.

Their spin-dependent fluorescence, detected via optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR), enables optical readout of local magnetic fields.

By engineering a thin diamond layer with high NV density, QDM enables widefield imaging of dynamic magnetic activity, analogous to an optical microscope, it added.

The team further aims to develop a quantum imaging platform integrating QDM with AI/ML-based computational imaging, paving the way for advanced chip diagnostics, biological imaging, and geological magnetisation studies.

--IANS

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