No Arabic abstract
Recent developments in magnetic field sensing with negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy centers (NV) in diamond employ magnetic-field (MF) dependent features in the photoluminescence (PL) and eliminate the need for microwaves (MW). Here, we study two approaches towards improving the magnetometric sensitivity using the ground-state level anti-crossing (GSLAC) feature of the NV center at a background MF of 102.4,mT. Following the first approach, we investigate the feature parameters for precise alignment in a dilute diamond sample; the second approach extends the sensing protocol into absorption via detection of the GSLAC in the diamond transmission of a 1042,nm laser beam. This leads to an increase of GSLAC contrast and results in a magnetometer with a sensitivity of 0.45,nT/$sqrt{text{Hz}}$ and a photon shot-noise limited sensitivity of 12.2 pT/$sqrt{rm{Hz}}$.
We propose an efficient method for calculating level anti-crossing spectra (LAC spectra) of interacting paramagnetic defect centers in crystals. By LAC spectra we mean the magnetic field dependence of the photoluminescence intensity of paramagnetic color centers: such field dependences often exhibit sharp features, such as peaks or dips, originating from LACs in the spin system. Our approach takes into account the electronic Zeeman interaction with the external magnetic field, dipole-dipole interaction of paramagnetic centers, hyperfine coupling of paramagnetic defects to magnetic nuclei and zero-field splitting. By using this method, we can not only obtain the positions of lines in LAC spectra, but also reproduce their shapes as well as the relative amplitudes of different lines. As a striking example, we present a calculation of LAC spectra in diamond crystals containing negatively charged NV centers.
We report a study of the magnetic field dependence of photoluminescence of NV$^-$ centers (negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy centers) in diamond single crystals. In such a magnetic field dependence characteristic sharp features are observed, which are coming from Level Anti-Crossings (LACs) in a coupled electron-nuclear spin system. For sensitive detection of such LAC-lines we use lock-in detection to measure the photoluminescence intensity. This experimental technique allows us to obtain new LAC lines. Additionally, a remarkably strong dependence of the LAC-lines on the modulation frequency is found. Specifically, upon decrease of the modulation frequency from 12 kHz to 17 Hz the amplitude of the LAC-lines increases by approximately two orders of magnitude. To take a quantitative account for such effects, we present a theoretical model, which describes the spin dynamics in a coupled electron-nuclear spin system under the action of an oscillating external magnetic field. Good agreement between experiments and theory allows us to conclude that the observed effects are originating from coherent spin polarization exchange in a coupled spin system comprising the spin-polarized NV$^-$ center. Our results are of great practical importance allowing one to optimize the experimental conditions for probing LAC-derived lines in diamond crystals comprising NV$^-$ centers and for indirect detection and identification of other paramagnetic defect centers.
We report a study of the magnetic field dependence of the photo-luminescence of NV$^-$ centers (negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy centers) in diamond single crystals. In such a magnetic field dependence characteristic lines are observed, which are coming from Level Anti-Crossings (LACs) in the coupled electron-nuclear spin system. For enhancing the sensitivity, we used lock-in detection to measure the photo-luminescence intensity and observed a remarkably strong dependence of the LAC-derived lines on the modulation frequency. Upon decreasing of the modulation frequency from 12 kHz to 17 Hz the amplitude of the lines increases by approximately two orders of magnitude. To take a quantitative account for such effects, we developed a theoretical model, which describes the spin dynamics in the coupled electron-nuclear spin system under the action of an oscillating external magnetic field. Good agreement between experiments and theory allows us to conclude that the observed effects are originating from coherent spin polarization exchange in the NV$^-$ center. Our results are of great practical importance allowing one to optimize the experimental conditions for probing LAC-derived lines in diamond defect centers.
We demonstrate a robust, scale-factor-free vector magnetometer, which uses a closed-loop frequency-locking scheme to simultaneously track Zeeman-split resonance pairs of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond. Compared with open-loop methodologies, this technique is robust against fluctuations in temperature, resonance linewidth, and contrast; offers a three-order-of-magnitude increase in dynamic range; and allows for simultaneous interrogation of multiple transition frequencies. By directly detecting the resonance frequencies of NV centers aligned along each of the diamonds four tetrahedral crystallographic axes, we perform full vector reconstruction of an applied magnetic field.
An efficient atom-photon-interface is a key requirement for the integration of solid-state emitters such as color centers in diamond into quantum technology applications. Just like other solid state emitters, however, their emission into free space is severely limited due to the high refractive index of the bulk host crystal. In this work, we present a planar optical antenna based on two silver mirrors coated on a thin single crystal diamond membrane, forming a planar Fabry-Perot cavity that improves the photon extraction from single tin vacancy (SnV) centers as well as their coupling to an excitation laser. Upon numerical optimization of the structure, we find theoretical enhancements in the collectible photon rate by a factor of 60 as compared to the bulk case. As a proof-of-principle demonstration, we fabricate single crystal diamond membranes with sub-$mu$m thickness and create SnV centers by ion implantation. Employing off-resonant excitation, we show a 6-fold enhancement of the collectible photon rate, yielding up to half a million photons per second from a single SnV center. At the same time, we observe a significant reduction of the required excitation power in accordance with theory, demonstrating the functionality of the cavity as an optical antenna. Due to its planar design, the antenna simultaneously provides similar enhancements for a large number of emitters inside the membrane. Furthermore, the monolithic structure provides high mechanical stability and straightforwardly enables operation under cryogenic conditions as required in most spin-photon interface implementations.