India has developed its first indigenous Quantum Diamond Microscope (QDM) for dynamic magnetic field imaging, marking a major milestone in the field of quantum sensing. The breakthrough, achieved by the P-Quest Group at IIT Bombay under the National Quantum Mission (NQM) of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), was announced during the Emerging Science Technology and Innovation Conclave (ESTIC 2025).
Union Minister for Science and Technology Dr. Jitendra Singh, Principal Scientific Adviser Prof. Ajay K. Sood, and DST Secretary Prof. Abhay Karandikar were present at the announcement ceremony.
The QDM, led by Professor Kasturi Saha’s team, is based on nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond — atomic-scale defects that retain quantum coherence at room temperature. These NV centers are highly sensitive to magnetic, electric, and thermal variations, enabling optical readouts of local magnetic fields through a process known as optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR).
The technology allows for three-dimensional magnetic field imaging at the nanoscale, offering widefield visualization of dynamic magnetic activity similar to an optical microscope. This innovation holds immense potential in neuroscience, materials research, and the non-destructive testing of semiconductor chips, where it can map buried current paths and multilayer structures in 3D.
With the increasing complexity of 3D chip architectures and cryogenic processors, conventional diagnostic tools often fail to capture subsurface magnetic dynamics. QDM offers a transformative solution for high-resolution, 3D magnetic mapping across integrated circuits, microelectronics, and energy storage systems.
Aligned with the vision of the National Quantum Mission, Prof. Saha’s team plans to integrate the QDM platform with AI and machine learning-based computational imaging, expanding its applications to chip diagnostics, biological imaging, and geological magnetization studies.
The innovation, which has also secured India’s first patent in the domain of quantum diamond microscopy, reinforces the country’s growing capabilities in indigenous quantum technologies and next-generation imaging systems.
