No Arabic abstract
A nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond is a promising sensor for nanoscale magnetic sensing. Here we report electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy using a single NV center in diamond. First, using a 230 GHz ESR spectrometer, we performed ensemble ESR of a type-Ib sample crystal and identified a substitutional single nitrogen impurity as a major paramagnetic center in the sample crystal. Then, we carried out free-induction decay and spin echo measurements of the single NV center to study static and dynamic properties of nanoscale bath spins surrounding the NV center. We also measured ESR spectrum of the bath spins using double electron-electron resonance spectroscopy with the single NV center. The spectrum analysis of the NV-based ESR measurement identified that the detected spins are the nitrogen impurity spins. The experiment was also performed with several other single NV centers in the diamond sample and demonstrated that the properties of the bath spins are unique to the NV centers indicating the probe of spins in the microscopic volume using NV-based ESR. Finally, we discussed the number of spins detected by the NV-based ESR spectroscopy. By comparing the experimental result with simulation, we estimated the number of the detected spins to be $leq$ 50 spins.
The protocols for the control and readout of Nitrogen Vacancy (NV) centres electron spins in diamond offer an advanced platform for quantum computation, metrology and sensing. These protocols are based on the optical readout of photons emitted from NV centres, which process is limited by the yield of photons collection. Here we report on a novel principle for the detection of NV centres magnetic resonance in diamond by directly monitoring spin-preserving electron transitions through measurement of NV centre related photocurrent. The demonstrated direct detection technique offers a sensitive way for the readout of diamond NV sensors and diamond quantum devices on diamond chips. The Photocurrent Detection of Magnetic Resonance (PDMR) scheme is based on the detection of charge carriers promoted to the conduction band of diamond by the two-photon ionization of NV- centres. Optical detection of magnetic resonance (ODMR) and PDMR are compared, by performing both measurements simultaneously. The minima detected in the measured photocurrent at resonant microwave frequencies are attributed to the spin-dependent occupation probability of the NV- ground state, originating from spin-selective non-radiative transitions.
We demonstrate electron spin polarization detection and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy using a direct current superconducting quantum interference device (dc-SQUID) magnetometer. Our target electron spin ensemble is directly glued on the dc-SQUID magnetometer that detects electron spin polarization induced by a external magnetic field or EPR in micrometer-sized area. The minimum distinguishable number of polarized spins and sensing volume of the electron spin polarization detection and the EPR spectroscopy are estimated to be $sim$$10^6$ and $sim$$10^{-10}$ $mathrm{cm}^{3}$ ($sim$0.1 pl), respectively.
The electrical conductivity of a material can feature subtle, nontrivial, and spatially-varying signatures with critical insight into the materials underlying physics. Here we demonstrate a conductivity imaging technique based on the atom-sized nitrogen-vacancy (NV) defect in diamond that offers local, quantitative, and noninvasive conductivity imaging with nanoscale spatial resolution. We monitor the spin relaxation rate of a single NV center in a scanning probe geometry to quantitatively image the magnetic fluctuations produced by thermal electron motion in nanopatterned metallic conductors. We achieve 40-nm scale spatial resolution of the conductivity and realize a 25-fold increase in imaging speed by implementing spin-to-charge conversion readout of a shallow NV center. NV-based conductivity imaging can probe condensed-matter systems in a new regime, and as a model example, we project readily achievable imaging of nanoscale phase separation in complex oxides.
Detection of AC magnetic fields at the nanoscale is critical in applications ranging from fundamental physics to materials science. Isolated quantum spin defects, such as the nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond, can achieve the desired spatial resolution with high sensitivity. Still, vector AC magnetometry currently relies on using different orientations of an ensemble of sensors, with degraded spatial resolution, and a protocol based on a single NV is lacking. Here we propose and experimentally demonstrate a protocol that exploits a single NV to reconstruct the vectorial components of an AC magnetic field by tuning a continuous driving to distinct resonance conditions. We map the spatial distribution of an AC field generated by a copper wire on the surface of the diamond. The proposed protocol combines high sensitivity, broad dynamic range, and sensitivity to both coherent and stochastic signals, with broad applications in condensed matter physics, such as probing spin fluctuations.
Near-surface nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers have been created in diamond through low energy implantation of 15N to sense electron spins that are external to the diamond. By performing double resonance experiments, we have verified the presence of g=2 spins on a diamond crystal that was subjected to various surface treatments, including coating with a polymer film containing the free radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). Subsequent acid cleaning eliminated the spin signal without otherwise disrupting the NV center, providing strong evidence that the spins were at the surface. A clear correlation was observed between the size of the detected spin signal and the relaxation time T2 for the six NV centers studied. We have developed a model that takes into account the finite correlation time of the fluctuating magnetic fields generated by the external spins, and used it to infer the signal strength and correlation time of the magnetic fields from these spins. This model also highlights the sensitivity advantage of active manipulation of the longitudinal spin component via double resonance over passive detection schemes that measure the transverse component of spin.