Sensitive, real-time optical magnetometry with nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond relies on accurate imaging of small (≪10−2) fractional fluorescence changes across the diamond sample. We discuss the limitations on magnetic-field sensitivity resulting from the limited number of photoelectrons that a camera can record in a given time. Several types of camera sensors are analyzed and the smallest measurable magnetic-field change is estimated for each type. We show that most common sensors are of a limited use in such applications, while certain highly specific cameras allow to achieve nanotesla-level sensitivity in 1~s of a combined exposure. Finally, we demonstrate the results obtained with a lock-in camera that pave the way for real-time, wide-field magnetometry at the nanotesla level and with micrometer resolution.
@article{arxiv.1708.06317,
title = {Camera-limits for wide-field magnetic resonance imaging of a nitrogen-vacancy spin sensor},
author = {Adam M. Wojciechowski and Mürsel Karadas and Alexander Huck and Fedor Jelezko and Jan Meijer and Ulrik L. Andersen},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1708.06317},
year = {2018}
}