A new type of magnetometer based on diamond impurities has been unveiled by physicists in the US. The device is about 1000 times more sensitive than previous diamond-based sensors because it uses an optical cavity to concentrate laser light in the vicinity of the impurities. Although the new device cannot yet reach the sensitivity of some other types of magnetometers, the physicists believe that it offers significant practical advantages that will be useful to researchers in many fields, including those studying magnetic signals from the heart and brain…….
http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/tech/60802