QUERY: Integrated quantum and electron microscopy for nanoscale imaging and sensing

This work will pioneer a new form of microscopy that will integrate quantum microscopy based on diamond sensors within experimental platforms used in electron microscopy providing unique contrast to correlate nanoscale structure and chemical composition with magnetic, oxidation and electronic states of matter with unprecedented detail. This will be achieved by integrating two local probes, namely Nitrogen Vacancy spin active defects in diamond and an electron beam to map functional and structural features of the same unique nanostructure or single molecule.

Chemical reactions promoted by and simultaneously imaged by electron beams will also be imaged in situ enabling accurate predictions of bond dissociation events and control of chemical reactions.

The QUERY project will lay the foundation for implementation of an integrated quantum and electron microscopy measurement platform for in situ studies. This unique measurement tool will tackle characterisation challenges at the frontier of materials science, opening the door for rational design of complex materials and enable the targeted design of quantum, spintronic, magnetic, and electronic materials and devices.

Time-resolved measurements utilising QUERY will enable the study of chemical reactions at the single-molecule level, and discovery new ways of breaking and making chemical bonds. Ultimately this work will facilitate the application of next generation materials to advance the UK's global position in areas of enormous technical importance including power conversion, energy storage, clean catalysis, data storage, microelectronics and drug development.