  Optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) provides ultrasensitive means to
detect and image a small number of electron and nuclear spins, down to the
single spin level with nanoscale resolution. Despite the significant recent
progress in this field, it has never been combined with the power of pulsed
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques. Here, we demonstrate for the first
time how these two methodologies can be integrated using short pulsed magnetic
field gradients to spatially-encode the sample. This results in what we denote
as an "optically detected magnetic resonance imaging" (ODMRI) technique. It
offers the advantage that the image is acquired in parallel from all parts of
the sample, with well-defined three-dimensional point-spread function, and
without any loss of spectroscopic information. In addition, this approach may
be used in the future for parallel but yet spatially-selective efficient
addressing and manipulation of the spins in the sample. Such capabilities are
of fundamental importance in the field of quantum spin-based devices and
sensors.
