Patent ID: 7199584

Claim:
A suitable for use in a nuclear magnetic resonance device for detecting a local magnetization of a sample comprising a material having a non-zero nuclear magnetic spin, the probe comprising: a tip comprising a material capable of being hyperpolarized and positioned to cause a dipolar interaction of said tip with the sample, said tip acquiring a magnetization in response to being hyperpolarized, the nuclear magnetic spin of a selected portion of the sample inducing a modulation of said magnetization of said tip in response to said dipolar interaction, whereby the modulation of said magnetization in said tip is proportional to the local magnetization of the selected portion; and a means for detecting the modulation of said magnetization in said tip, wherein said means for detecting comprises optical detection means, and wherein said optical detection means comprises an analyzer for measuring a time-resolved rotation of a transmitted polarization state of laser radiation transmitted through said tip, said time-resolved rotation corresponding to the modulation of said magnetization of said tip.