Three-dimensional imaging with a nuclear magnetic resonance force microscope

A magnetic resonance force microscope was used to demonstrate three-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance imaging with micrometer-scale spatial resolution. The sample was mounted on a silicon nitride cantilever that served as a micromechanical force sensor. A nearby magnetic tip generated a field gradient of 22 G/mu m. A three-dimensional magnetic resonance force map of the H-1 spins in the sample was produced by lateral scanning of the magnetic tip relative to the sample and by varying the rf frequency of the spin excitation. The real-space spin density of the sample was reconstructed from the force map by means of a deconvolution technique. The spatial resolution achieved in the experiment was similar to 3 mu m in the axial direction. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.