We present a study of the structural and electronic properties of ultra-nanocrystalline diamond films that were modified by adding nitrogen to the gas mixture during chemical vapour deposition growth. Hall bar devices were fabricated from the resulting films to investigate their electrical conduction as a function of both temperature and magnetic field. Through low-temperature magnetoresistance measurements, we present strong evidence that the dominant conduction mechanism in these films can be explained by a combination of 3D weak localization (3DWL) and thermally activated hopping at higher temperatures. An anisotropic 3DWL model is then applied to extract the phase-coherence time as function of temperature, which shows evidence of a power law dependence in good agreement with theory.
We report results of quantum efficiency (QE) measurements carried out on a 150 nm thick nitrogen-incorporated ultrananocrystalline diamond terminated with hydrogen; abbreviated as (N)UNCD:H. (N)UNCD:H demonstrated a QE of $\sim$10$^{-3}$ ($\sim$0.1%) at 254 nm. Moreover, (N)UNCD:H was sensitive in visible light with a QE of $\sim$5$\times$10$^{-8}$ at 405 nm and $\sim$5$\times$10$^{-9}$ at 436 nm. After growth and prior to QE measurements, samples were exposed to air for about 2 hours for transfer and loading. Such design takes advantage of a key combination: 1) H-termination inducing negative…
We establish the dominant effect of anisotropic weak localization (WL) in three dimensions associated with a propagative Fermi surface, on the conductivity correction in heavily nitrogen doped ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) films based on magneto-resistance studies at low temperatures. Also, low temperature electrical conductivity can show weakly localized transport in 3D combined with the effect of electron-electron interactions in these materials, which is remarkably different from the conductivity in 2DWL or strong localization regime. The corresponding dephasing time of electronic wav…
We report hyperpolarization of the electronic spins associated with substitutional nitrogen defects in bulk diamond crystal. Hyperpolarization is achieved by optical pumping of nitrogen vacancy centers followed by rapid cross relaxation at the energy level matching condition in a 51 mT bias field. The maximum observed donor spin polarization is 0.9 \% corresponding to an enhancement by 25 compared to the thermal Boltzmann polarization. A further accumulation of polarization is impeded by an anomalous optical saturation effect that we attribute to charge state conversion processes. Hyperpolariz…
We investigate the correlation between surface roughness and corresponding $T_2$ times of nearsurface nitrogen-vacancy centers (~7 nm/ 5 keV implantation energy) in diamond. For this purpose we compare five different polishing techniques, including both purely mechanical as well as chemical mechanical approaches, two different substrate sources (Diam2tec and Element Six) and two different surface terminations (O- and H-termination) during nitrogen-vacancy forming. All coherence times are measured and compared before and after an oxygen surface treatment at 520 °C. We find that the coherence ti…
We demonstrate preferential orientation of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color centers along two of four possible crystallographic axes in diamonds grown by chemical vapor deposition on the {100} face. We identify the relevant growth regime and present a possible explanation of this effect. We show that preferential orientation provides increased optical read-out contrast for NV multi-spin measurements, including enhanced AC magnetic field sensitivity, thus providing an important step towards high fidelity multi-spin-qubit quantum information processing, sensing and metrology.
We demonstrate optical readout of ensembles of nitrogen-vacancy(NV) center spins in a bulk diamond sample via spin-to-charge conversion. A high power 594 nm laser is utilized to selectively ionize these paramagnetic defects in the spin state with a contrast of up to 12%. In comparison with the conventional 520 nm spin readout, spin-to-charge-conversion-based readout provides higher signal-to-noise ratio, with tenfold sensing measurement speedup for millisecond long pulse sequences. This level of performance was achieved for an NV- ionization of only 25%, limited by the ionization and readout l…
The creation of nitrogen-vacancy centres in diamond is nowadays well controlled using nitrogen implantation and annealing. Although the high-resolution placement of NV centres has been demonstrated using either collimation through pierced AFM tips or masks with apertures made by electron beam lithography, a targeted implantation into pre-defined structures in diamond may not be achieved using these techniques. We show that a beam of nitrogen ions can be focused to approximately 100 nm using focused ion beam (FIB) technology. The nitrogen ion beam is produced using an electron cyclotron resonan…
We investigate the strain-induced coupling between a nitrogen-vacancy impurity and a resonant vibrational mode of a diamond nanoresonator. We show that under near-resonant laser excitation of the electronic states of the impurity, this coupling can modify the state of the resonator and either cool the resonator close to the vibrational ground state or drive it into a large amplitude coherent state. We derive a semi-classical model to describe both effects and evaluate the stationary state of the resonator mode under various driving conditions. In particular, we find that by exploiting resonant…
We propose a scheme to couple NV centers in diamond through coplanar waveguide resonators. The central conductor of the resonator is split into several pieces which are coupled strongly with each other via simple capacitive junctions or superconducting Josephson junctions. The NV centers are then put at the junctions. The discontinuity at the junctions induces a large local magnetic field, with which the NV centers are strongly coupled to the circuit resonator. The coupling strength $g$ between the resonator and the NV center is of order of $g/2π\sim 1$--$30\unit{MHz}$.
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 de…
The point-like nature and exquisite magnetic field sensitivity of the nitrogen vacancy (NV) center in diamond can provide information about the inner workings of magnetic nanocircuits in complement with traditional transport techniques. Here we use a single NV in bulk diamond to probe the stray field of a ferromagnetic nanowire controlled by spin transfer (ST) torques. We first report an unambiguous measurement of ST tuned, parametrically driven, large-amplitude magnetic oscillations. At the same time, we demonstrate that such magnetic oscillations alone can directly drive NV spin transitions,…
We investigate the spin dynamics of a Nitrogen-Vacancy (NV) center contained in an individual diamond nanocrystal in the presence of continuous microwave excitation. Upon periodic reversal of the microwave phase, we observe a train of 'Solomon echoes' that effectively extends the system coherence lifetime to reach several tens of microseconds, depending on the microwave power and phase inversion rate. Starting from a model where the NV center interacts with a bath of paramagnetic defects on the nanocrystal surface, we use average Hamiltonian theory to compute the signal envelope from its ampli…
We give instructions for the construction and operation of a simple apparatus for performing optically detected magnetic resonance measurements on diamond samples containing high concentrations of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers. Each NV center has a spin degree of freedom that can be manipulated and monitored by a combination of visible and microwave radiation. We observe Zeeman shifts in the presence of small external magnetic fields and describe a simple method to optically measure magnetic field strengths with a spatial resolution of several microns. The activities described are suitable for…
Two dimensional electronic spectroscopy and transient grating measurements were performed, for the first time, on nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond. These measurements reveal energy transfer and vibrational pathways with consequences for spin coherence.
We present an experimental study of the longitudinal electron-spin relaxation of ensembles of negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV ) centers in diamond. The measurements were performed with samples having different NV- concentrations and at different temperatures and magnetic fields. We found that the relaxation rate T1-1 increases when transition frequencies in NV- centers with different orientations become degenerate and interpret this as cross-relaxation caused by dipole-dipole interaction.
Using microwave-assisted plasma chemical vapour deposition (CVD) a layer of Nitrogen doped ultra-nano-crystalline diamond (N-UNCD) is deposited on top of a non-conducting diamond layer, which itself is situated on a Silicon wafer. This structure is then shaped into Hall-bar devices of various dimensions using optical lithography and dry-etching techniques. The devices' electrical properties are investigated at various temperatures using a cryogen-free dilution refrigerator.
The diamond nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center is a leading platform for quantum information science due to its optical addressability and room-temperature spin coherence. However, measurements of the NV center's spin state typically require averaging over many cycles to overcome noise. Here, we review several approaches to improve the readout performance and highlight future avenues of research that could enable single-shot electron-spin readout at room temperature.
The localized spin triplet ground state of a nitrogen vacancy (NV) center in diamond can be used in atomic-scale detection of local magnetic fields. Here we present a technique using these defects in diamond to image fields around magnetic structures. We extract the local magnetic field vector by probing resonant transitions of the four fixed tetrahedral NV orientations. In combination with confocal microscopy techniques, we construct a 2-dimensional image of the local magnetic field vectors. Measurements are done in external fields less than 50 G and under ambient conditions.
We develop a quantum theory for a variety of nuclear spin dynamics such as dephasing, relaxation, squeezing, and narrowing due to the hyperfine interaction with a generic, dissipative electronic system. The first-order result of our theory reproduces and generalizes the nonlinear Hamiltonian for nuclear spin squeezing [M. S. Rudner, Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 206806 (2011)]. The second-order result of our theory provides a good explanation to the experimentally observed $^{13}$C nuclear spin bath narrowing in diamond nitrogen-vacancy center [E. Togan, Nature 478, 497 (2011)
We present an experimental and theoretical study of the optically detected magnetic resonance signals for ensembles of negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in 13C isotopically enriched single-crystal diamond. We observe four broad transition peaks with superimposed sharp features at zero magnetic field and study their dependence on applied magnetic field. A theoretical model that reproduces all qualitative features of these spectra is developed. Understanding the magnetic-resonance spectra of NV centers in isotopically enriched diamond is important for emerging applications in nucl…
In this paper, starting from a quantum master equation, we discuss the interaction between two negatively charged Nitrogen-vacancy color centers in diamond via exciton-polaritons propagating in a two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenide layer in close proximity to a diamond crystal. We focus on the optical 1.945 eV transition and model the Nitrogen-vacancy color centers as two-level (artificial) atoms. We find that the interaction parameters and the energy levels renormalization constants are extremely sensitive to the distance of the Nitrogen-vacancy centers to the transition metal dic…
We theoretically investigate spin decoherence of a single nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond. Using the spin coherent state P-representation method, coherence evolution of the NV center surrounded by nitrogen electron spins (N) is simulated. We find that spin decoherence time as well as free-induction decay of the NV center depend on the spatial configuration of N spins. Both the spin decoherence rate (1/T2) and dephasing rate (1/T2*) of the NV center increase linearly with the concentration of the N spins. Using the P-representation method, we also demonstrate extracting noise spectrum o…
Fluorescent nanodiamonds containing negatively-charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV$^-$) centers are promising for a wide range of applications, such as for sensing, as fluorescence biomarkers, or to hyperpolarize nuclear spins. NV$^-$ centers are formed from substitutional nitrogen (P1 centers) defects and vacancies in the diamond lattice. Maximizing the concentration of NVs is most beneficial, which justifies the search for methods with a high yield of conversion from P1 to NV$^-$. We report here the characterization of surface cleaned fluorescent micro- and nanodiamonds, obtained by irradiation of …
Nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond, being a promising candidate for quantum information processing, may also be an ideal platform for simulating many-body physics. However, it is difficult to realize interactions between nitrogen-vacancy centers strong enough to form a macroscopically ordered phase under realistic temperatures. Here we propose a scheme to realize long-range ferromagnetic Ising interactions between distant nitrogen-vacancy centers by using a mechanical resonator as a medium. Since the critical temperature in the long-range Ising model is proportional to the number of spins, a …
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.
Fast quantum spin manipulation is needed to design spin-based quantum logic gates and other quantum applications. Here, we construct exact evolution operator of the nitrogen-vacancy-center (NV) spin in diamond under external magnetic fields and investigate the nonadiabatic geometric phases, both cyclic and non-cyclic, in these fast-manipulated NV spin systems. It is believed that the nonadiabatic geometric phases can be measured in future experiments and these fast quantum manipulations can be useful in designing spin-based quantum applications.
We report on a planar microwave resonator providing arbitrarily polarized oscillating magnetic fields that enable selective excitation of the electronic spins of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond. The polarization plane is parallel to the surface of diamond, which makes the resonator fully compatible with (111)-oriented diamond. The field distribution is spatially uniform in a circular area with a diameter of 4 mm, and a near-perfect circular polarization is achieved. We also demonstrate that the original resonance frequency of 2.8 GHz can be varied in the range of 2-3.2 GHz by introduc…
Applications of negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond exploit the center's unique optical and spin properties, which at ambient temperature, are predominately governed by electron-phonon interactions. Here, we investigate these interactions at ambient and elevated temperatures by observing the motional narrowing of the center's excited state spin resonances. We determine that the center's Jahn-Teller dynamics are much slower than currently believed and identify the vital role of symmetric phonon modes. Our results have pronounced implications for center's diverse applications (…
The ability to create time-dependent magnetic fields of controlled polarization is essential for many experiments with magnetic resonance. We describe a microstrip circuit that allows us to generate strong magnetic field at microwave frequencies with arbitrary adjusted polarization. The circuit performance is demonstrated by applying it to an optically detected magnetic resonance and Rabi nutation experiments in nitrogen-vacancy color centers in diamond. Thanks to high efficiency of the proposed microstrip circuit and degree of circular polarization of 85% it is possible to address the specifi…
The ability to optically initialize the electronic spin of the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond has long been considered a valuable resource to enhance the polarization of neighboring nuclei, but efficient polarization transfer to spin species outside the diamond crystal has proven challenging. Here we demonstrate variable-magnetic-field, microwave-enabled cross-polarization from the NV electronic spin to protons in a model viscous fluid in contact with the diamond surface. Slight changes in the cross-relaxation rate as a function of the wait time between successive repetitions of the t…
Nitrogen-Vacancy (NV) color centers in diamond have emerged as promising quantum solid-state systems, with applications ranging from quantum information processing to magnetic sensing. One of the most useful properties of NVs is the ability to read their ground-state spin projection optically at room temperature. This work provides a theoretical analysis of Purcell enhanced NV optical coupling, through which we find optimal parameters for maximal Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) of the optical spin-state readout. We conclude that a combined increase in spontaneous emission (through Purcell enhancem…
Shallow nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond is promising in quantum sensing applications however its sensitivity has been limited by surface terminators and defects. There is an immediate quest to find suitable diamond surfaces for NV sensors. In this work, the surface terminators of (113) diamond to host shallow NV centers are studied by means of first principles calculations. Results indicate that complete oxygen termination of (113) diamond creates positive electron affinity with neither strain on the surface nor in-gap levels. This is a very surprising result as the commonly employed o…
Here we report the fabrication of stable, shallow (< 5 nm) nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond by nitrogen delta doping at the last stage of the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) growth process. The NVs are stabilized after treating the diamond in $SF_6$ plasma, otherwise the color centers are not observed, suggesting a strong influence from the surface. X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements show the presence of only fluorine atoms on the surface, in contrast to previous studies, and suggests very good surface coverage. We managed to detect hydrogen nuclear magnetic resonance signal…
We present the development of an optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) system, which enables us to perform the ODMR measurements of a single defect in solids at high frequencies and high magnetic fields. Using the high-frequency and high-field ODMR system, we demonstrate 115 GHz continuous-wave and pulsed ODMR measurements of a single nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in a diamond crystal at the magnetic field of 4.2 Tesla as well as investigation of field dependence ($0-8$ Tesla) of the longitudinal relaxation time ($T_1$) of NV centers in nanodiamonds.
We demonstrate vector magnetometry with an ensemble of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond without the need for an external bias field. The anisotropy of the electric dipole moments of the NV center reduces the ambiguity of the optically detected magnetic resonances upon polarized visible excitation. Further lifting of the remaining ambiguities is achieved via application of an appropriately linearly polarized microwave field, which enables suppression of spin-state transitions of a certain crystallographic NV orientation. This allows for the full vector reconstruction of small (less 0.1 …
Exposure to beams of low energy electrons (2 to 30 keV) in a scanning electron microscope locally induces formation of NV-centers without thermal annealing in diamonds that have been implanted with nitrogen ions. We find that non-thermal, electron beam induced NV-formation is about four times less efficient than thermal annealing. But NV-center formation in a consecutive thermal annealing step (800C) following exposure to low energy electrons increases by a factor of up to 1.8 compared to thermal annealing alone. These observations point to reconstruction of nitrogen-vacancy complexes induced …
Synthetic diamond production is key to the development of quantum metrology and quantum information applications of diamond. The major quantum sensor and qubit candidate in diamond is the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color center. This lattice defect comes in four different crystallographic orientations leading to an intrinsic inhomogeneity among NV centers that is undesirable in some applications. Here, we report a microwave plasma-assisted chemical vapor decomposition (MPCVD) diamond growth technique on (111)-oriented substrates that yields perfect alignment ($94\pm2%$) of as-grown NV centers along…
Nitrogen impurities help to stabilize the negatively-charged-state of NV$^-$ in diamond, whereas magnetic fluctuations from nitrogen spins lead to decoherence of NV$^-$ qubits. It is not known what donor concentration optimizes these conflicting requirements. Here we used 10-MeV $^{15}$N$^{3+}$ ion implantation to create NV$^-$ in ultrapure diamond. Optically detected magnetic resonance of single centers revealed a high creation yield of $40\pm3$% from $^{15}$N$^{3+}$ ions and an additional yield of $56\pm3$% from $^{14}$N impurities. High-temperature anneal was used to reduce residual defects…
We report on the observation of quantum interference of the emission from two separate nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond. Taking advantage of optically induced spin polarization in combination with polarization filtering, we isolate a single transition within the zero-phonon line of the non-resonantly excited NV centers. The time-resolved two-photon interference contrast of this filtered emission reaches 66%. Furthermore, we observe quantum interference from dissimilar NV centers tuned into resonance through the dc Stark effect. These results pave the way towards measurement-based entan…
We propose a method to achieve coherent coupling between Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond and superconducting (SC) flux qubits. The resulting coupling can be used to create a coherent interaction between the spin states of distant NV centers mediated by the flux qubit. Furthermore, the magnetic coupling can be used to achieve a coherent transfer of quantum information between the flux qubit and an ensemble of NV centers. This enables a long-term memory for a SC quantum processor and possibly an interface between SC qubits and light.
We show that nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond interfaced with a suspended carbon nanotube carrying a dc current can facilitate a spin-nanomechanical hybrid device. We demonstrate that strong magnetomechanical interactions between a single NV spin and the vibrational mode of the suspended nanotube can be engineered and dynamically tuned by external control over the system parameters. This spin-nanomechanical setup with strong, \emph{intrinsic} and \emph{tunable} magnetomechanical couplings allows for the construction of hybrid quantum devices with NV centers and carbon-based nanostructu…
Etching experiments were performed that reveal the vertical distribution of optically active nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond created in close proximity to a surface through ion implantation and annealing. The NV distribution depends strongly on the native nitrogen concentration, and spectral measurements of the neutral and negatively-charged NV peaks give evidence for electron depletion effects in lower-nitrogen material. The results are important for potential quantum information and magnetometer devices where NV centers must be created in close proximity to a surface for coupling to…
We model the decoherence and dephasing of nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond due to a noisy paramagnetic bath, with and without the presence of a rf field that couples levels of the ground electronic state manifold, using a simple quantum mechanical model that allows for analytical solutions. The model treats the NV three-level ground state system in the presence of fluctuating magnetic fields that arise from the environment, and that result in decoherence, dephasing and dissipation. We show that all 9 eigenmodes of the three-level system are coupled to each other due to interaction with…
Recently we have demonstrated AC magnetic field sensing scheme using a simple continuous-wave optically detected magnetic resonance of nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond [Appl. Phys. Lett. 113, 082405 (2018)]. This scheme is based on electronic spin double resonance excited by continuous microwaves and radio-frequency (RF) fields. Here we measured and analyzed the double resonance spectra and magnetic field sensitivity for various frequencies of microwaves and RF fields. As a result, we observed a clear anticrossing of RF-dressed electronic spin states in the spectra and estimated the bandwid…
We demonstrate quantum interference between indistinguishable photons emitted by two nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in distinct diamond samples separated by two meters. Macroscopic solid immersion lenses are used to enhance photon collection efficiency. Quantum interference is verified by measuring a value of the second-order cross-correlation function $g^{(2)}(0) = 0.35 \pm 0.04<0.5$. In addition, optical transition frequencies of two separated NV centers are tuned into resonance with each other by applying external electric fields. Extension of the present approach to generate entanglement of…
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 present…
Nitrogen vacancy (NV-) color centers in diamond are a prime candidate for use in quantum information devices, owing to their spin-1 ground state, straightforward optical initialization and readout, and long intrinsic coherence times in a room-temperature solid. While the 13C nuclear spin is often a dominant source of magnetic noise, we observe transitions between electron-nuclear hyperfine states of NV- centers in 99% 13C diamond that are robust to decoherence. At magnetic field strengths ranging from 550 - 900 G, these transitions are observable by optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR)…
We demonstrate optomechanical quantum control of the internal electronic states of a diamond nitrogen vacancy (NV) center in the resolved-sideband regime by coupling the NV to both optical fields and surface acoustic waves via a phonon-assisted optical transition and by taking advantage of the strong excited-state electron-phonon coupling of a NV center. Optomechanically-driven Rabi oscillations as well as quantum interferences between the optomechanical sideband and the direct dipole-optical transitions have been realized. These studies open the door to using resolved-sideband optomechanical …
We present systematic measurements of longitudinal relaxation rates ($1/T_1$) of spin polarization in the ground state of the nitrogen-vacancy (NV$^-$) color center in synthetic diamond as a function of NV$^-$ concentration and magnetic field $B$. NV$^-$ centers were created by irradiating a Type 1b single-crystal diamond along the [100] axis with 200 keV electrons from a transmission electron microscope with varying doses to achieve spots of different NV$^-$ center concentrations. Values of ($1/T_1$) were measured for each spot as a function of $B$.
We study the coupling of a single nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond to a nearby single nitrogen defect at room temperature. The magnetic dipolar coupling leads to a splitting in the electron spin resonance frequency of the nitrogen-vacancy center, allowing readout of the state of a single nitrogen electron spin. At magnetic fields where the spin splitting of the two centers is the same we observe a strong polarization of the nitrogen electron spin. The amount of polarization can be controlled by the optical excitation power. We combine the polarization and the readout in time-resolved pump-pr…
Color centers in diamond are widely explored for applications in quantum sensing, computing, and networking. Their optical, spin, and charge properties have been extensively studied, while their interactions with itinerant carriers are relatively unexplored. Here we show that NV centers situated within 10 nm of the diamond surface can be converted to the neutral charge state via hole capture. By measuring the hole capture rate, we extract the capture cross section, which is suppressed by proximity to the diamond surface. The distance dependence is consistent with a carrier diffusion model, ind…
We demonstrate an absolute magnetometer immune to temperature fluctuation and strain inhomogeneity, based on quantum beats in the ground state of nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond. We apply this technique to measure low-frequency magnetic field noise using a single nitrogen-vacancy center located within 500 nm of the surface of an isotopically-pure (99.99% C12) diamond. The photon-shot-noise limited sensitivity achieves 38 nT/Hz^1/2 for 4.45 s acquisition time, a factor of 2^1/2 better than the implementation which uses only two spin levels. For long acquisition times (>10 s), we realize up …
We demonstrate nanometer-precision depth control of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center creation near the surface of synthetic diamond using an in situ nitrogen delta-doping technique during plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Despite their proximity to the surface, doped NV centers with depths (d) ranging from 5 - 100 nm display long spin coherence times, T2 > 100 \mus at d = 5 nm and T2 > 600 \mus at d \geq 50 nm. The consistently long spin coherence observed in such shallow NV centers enables applications such as atomic-scale external spin sensing and hybrid quantum architectures.
The application of imaging techniques based on ensembles of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) sensors in diamond to characterise electrical devices has been proposed, but the compatibility of NV sensing with operational gated devices remains largely unexplored. Here we fabricate graphene field-effect transistors (GFETs) directly on the diamond surface and characterise them via NV microscopy. The current density within the gated graphene is reconstructed from NV magnetometry under both mostly p- and n-type doping, but the exact doping level is found to be affected by the measurements. Additionally, we obse…
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 diamond's four tetrahedra…
Individual, luminescent point defects in solids so called color centers are atomic-sized quantum systems enabling sensing and imaging with nanoscale spatial resolution. In this overview, we introduce nanoscale sensing based on individual nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond. We discuss two central challenges of the field: First, the creation of highly-coherent, shallow NV centers less than 10 nm below the surface of single-crystal diamond. Second, the fabrication of tip-like photonic nanostructures that enable efficient fluorescence collection and can be used for scanning probe imaging bas…
Negatively-charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV$^-$) centers in diamond have generated much recent interest for their use in sensing. The sensitivity improves when the NV ground-state microwave transitions are narrow, but these transitions suffer from inhomogeneous broadening, especially in high-density NV ensembles. To better understand and remove the sources of broadening, we demonstrate room-temperature spectral "hole burning" of the NV ground-state transitions. We find that hole burning removes the broadening caused by magnetic fields from $^{13}$C nuclei and demonstrate that it can be used for ma…
Coherent population trapping (CPT) provides a highly sensitive means for probing the energy level structure of an atomic system. For a nitrogen vacancy center in diamond, the CPT offers an alternative to the standard optically-detected magnetic resonance method for measuring the hyperfine structure of the electronic ground states. We show that the nuclear spin dependent CPT measures directly the hyperfine splitting of these states due to the 14N nuclear spin. The CPT spectral response obtained in the presence of a strong microwave field, resonant or nearly resonant with a ground state spin tra…
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 wa…
