No Arabic abstract
We perform pulsed optically detected electron spin resonance to measure the DC magnetic field sensitivity and electronic spin coherence time T_2 of an ensemble of near-surface, high-density nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers engineered to have a narrow magnetic resonance linewidth. Combining pulsed spectroscopy with dynamic nuclear polarization, we obtain the photon-shot-noise-limited DC magnetic sensitivity of 35 nT Hz^{-0.5}. We find that T_2 is controlled by instantaneous diffusion, enabling decoherence spectroscopy on residual nitrogen impurity spins in the diamond lattice and a quantitative determination of their density. The demonstrated high DC magnetic sensitivity and decoherence spectroscopy are expected to broaden the application range for two-dimensional magnetic imaging.
The nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color center in diamond is an atom-like system in the solid-state which specific spin properties can be efficiently used as a sensitive magnetic sensor. An external magnetic field induces Zeeman shifts of the NV center levels which can be measured using Optically Detected Magnetic Resonance (ODMR). In this work, we exploit the ODMR signal of an ensemble of NV centers in order to quantitatively map the vectorial structure of a magnetic field produced by a sample close to the surface of a CVD diamond hosting a thin layer of NV centers. The reconstruction of the magnetic field is based on a maximum-likelihood technique which exploits the response of the four intrinsic orientations of the NV center inside the diamond lattice. The sensitivity associated to a 1 {mu}m^2 area of the doped layer, equivalent to a sensor consisting of approximately 10^4 NV centers, is of the order of 2 {mu}T/sqrt{Hz}. The spatial resolution of the imaging device is 400 nm, limited by the numerical aperture of the optical microscope which is used to collect the photoluminescence of the NV layer. The versatility of the sensor is illustrated by the accurate reconstruction of the magnetic field created by a DC current inside a copper wire deposited on the diamond sample.
We show that electric field noise from surface charge fluctuations can be a significant source of spin decoherence for near-surface nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond. This conclusion is based on the increase in spin coherence observed when the diamond surface is covered with high-dielectric-constant liquids, such as glycerol. Double resonance experiments show that improved coherence occurs even though the coupling to nearby electron spins is unchanged when the liquid is applied. Multipulse spin echo experiments reveal the effect of glycerol on the spectrum of NV frequency noise.
We demonstrate a spin-based, all-dielectric electrometer based on an ensemble of nitrogen-vacancy (NV$^-$) defects in diamond. An applied electric field causes energy level shifts symmetrically away from the NV$^-$s degenerate triplet states via the Stark effect; this symmetry provides immunity to temperature fluctuations allowing for shot-noise-limited detection. Using an ensemble of NV$^-$s, we demonstrate shot-noise limited sensitivities approaching 1 V/cm/$sqrt{text{Hz}}$ under ambient conditions, at low frequencies ($<$10 Hz), and over a large dynamic range (20 dB). A theoretical model for the ensemble of NV$^-$s fits well with measurements of the ground-state electric susceptibility parameter, $langle k_perprangle$. Implications of spin-based, dielectric sensors for micron-scale electric-field sensing are discussed.
We present a simple and effective method of loading particles into an optical trap in air at atmospheric pressure. Material which is highly absorptive at the trapping laser wavelength, such as tartrazine dye, is used as media to attach photoluminescent diamond nanocrystals. The mix is burnt into a cloud of air-borne particles as the material is swept near the trapping laser focus on a glass slide. Particles are then trapped with the laser used for burning or transferred to a second laser trap at a different wavelength. Evidence of successfully loading diamond nanocrystals into the trap presented includes high sensitivity of the photoluminecscence (PL) to an excitation laser at 520~nm wavelength and the PL spectra of the optically trapped particles. This method provides a convenient technique for the study of the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers contained in optically trapped diamond nanocrystals.
We report a magnetic field dependence of fluorescence of diamond single crystals containing NV$^-$ centers. In such spectra, numerous sharp lines are found, which correspond to Level Anti-Crossings (LACs) in coupled spins systems comprising an NV$^-$ center. Theoretical modeling of such LAC-spectra enables characterization of paramagnetic defect centers and determination of their magnetic resonance parameters, such as zero-field splitting and hyperfine coupling constants. The outlined method thus enables sensitive detection of paramagnetic impurities in diamond crystals.