Communicated by Stuart S. P. Parkin, IBM Almaden Research Center, San Jose, CA, December 1, 2008 (received for review August 21, 2008)
We have combined ultrasensitive magnetic resonance force microscopy (MRFM) with 3D image reconstruction to achieve magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with resolution <10 nm. The image reconstruction converts measured magnetic force data into a 3D map of nuclear spin density, taking advantage of the unique characteristics of the “resonant slice” that is projected outward from a nanoscale magnetic tip. The basic principles are demonstrated by imaging the 1H spin density within individual tobacco mosaic virus particles sitting on a nanometer-thick layer of adsorbed hydrocarbons. This result, which represents a 100 million-fold improvement in volume resolution over conventional MRI, demonstrates the potential of MRFM as a tool for 3D, elementally selective imaging on the nanometer scale.
Author contributions: C.L.D., M.P., H.J.M., and D.R. designed research; C.L.D., M.P., H.J.M., and D.R. performed research; C.T.R. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; C.L.D., M.P., H.J.M., and D.R. analyzed data; and C.L.D., M.P., and D.R. wrote the paper.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
