3,065 research outputs found
Coherent population trapping of a single nuclear spin under ambient conditions
Coherent control of quantum systems has far-reaching implications in quantum
engineering. In this context, coherent population trapping (CPT) involving dark
resonances has played a prominent role, leading to a wealth of major
applications including laser cooling of atoms and molecules, optical
magnetometry, light storage and highly precise atomic clocks. Extending CPT
methods to individual solid-state quantum systems has been only achieved in
cryogenic environments for electron spin impurities and superconducting
circuits. Here, we demonstrate efficient CPT of a single nuclear spin in a room
temperature solid. To this end, we make use of a three-level system with a
-configuration in the microwave domain, which consists of nuclear spin
states addressed through their hyperfine coupling to the electron spin of a
single nitrogen-vacancy defect in diamond. Dark state pumping requires a
relaxation mechanism which, in atomic systems, is simply provided by
spontaneous emission. In this work, the relaxation process is externally
controlled through incoherent optical pumping and separated in time from
consecutive coherent microwave excitations of the nuclear spin
-system. Such a pumping scheme with controlled relaxation allows us
(i) to monitor the sequential accumulation of population into the dark state
and (ii) to reach a new regime of CPT dynamics for which periodic arrays of
dark resonances can be observed, owing to multiple constructive interferences.
This work offers new prospects for quantum state preparation, information
storage in hybrid quantum systems and metrology.Comment: 13 pages including supplementary information, links to figures
correcte
Magnetometry with nitrogen-vacancy defects in diamond
The isolated electronic spin system of the Nitrogen-Vacancy (NV) centre in
diamond offers unique possibilities to be employed as a nanoscale sensor for
detection and imaging of weak magnetic fields. Magnetic imaging with nanometric
resolution and field detection capabilities in the nanotesla range are enabled
by the atomic-size and exceptionally long spin-coherence times of this
naturally occurring defect. The exciting perspectives that ensue from these
characteristics have triggered vivid experimental activities in the emerging
field of "NV magnetometry". It is the purpose of this article to review the
recent progress in high-sensitivity nanoscale NV magnetometry, generate an
overview of the most pertinent results of the last years and highlight
perspectives for future developments. We will present the physical principles
that allow for magnetic field detection with NV centres and discuss first
applications of NV magnetometers that have been demonstrated in the context of
nano magnetism, mesoscopic physics and the life sciences.Comment: Review article, 28 pages, 16 figure
Coherent population trapping of a single nuclear spin under ambient conditions
Coherent control of quantum systems has far-reaching implications in quantum
engineering. In this context, coherent population trapping (CPT) involving dark
resonances has played a prominent role, leading to a wealth of major
applications including laser cooling of atoms and molecules, optical
magnetometry, light storage and highly precise atomic clocks. Extending CPT
methods to individual solid-state quantum systems has been only achieved in
cryogenic environments for electron spin impurities and superconducting
circuits. Here, we demonstrate efficient CPT of a single nuclear spin in a room
temperature solid. To this end, we make use of a three-level system with a
-configuration in the microwave domain, which consists of nuclear spin
states addressed through their hyperfine coupling to the electron spin of a
single nitrogen-vacancy defect in diamond. Dark state pumping requires a
relaxation mechanism which, in atomic systems, is simply provided by
spontaneous emission. In this work, the relaxation process is externally
controlled through incoherent optical pumping and separated in time from
consecutive coherent microwave excitations of the nuclear spin
-system. Such a pumping scheme with controlled relaxation allows us
(i) to monitor the sequential accumulation of population into the dark state
and (ii) to reach a new regime of CPT dynamics for which periodic arrays of
dark resonances can be observed, owing to multiple constructive interferences.
This work offers new prospects for quantum state preparation, information
storage in hybrid quantum systems and metrology.Comment: 13 pages including supplementary information, links to figures
correcte
Magnetic-field-dependent photodynamics of single NV defects in diamond: Application to qualitative all-optical magnetic imaging
Magnetometry and magnetic imaging with nitrogen-vacancy (NV) defects in
diamond rely on the optical detection of electron spin resonance (ESR).
However, this technique is inherently limited to magnetic fields that are weak
enough to avoid electron spin mixing. Here we focus on the high off-axis
magnetic field regime for which spin mixing alters the NV defect spin dynamics.
We first study in a quantitative manner the dependence of the NV defect optical
properties on the magnetic field vector B. Magnetic-field-dependent
time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) measurements are compared to a seven-level
model of the NV defect that accounts for field-induced spin mixing. The model
reproduces the decreases in (i) ESR contrast, (ii) PL intensity and (iii)
excited level lifetime with an increasing off-axis magnetic field. We next
demonstrate that those effects can be used to perform all-optical magnetic
imaging in the high off-axis magnetic field regime. Using a scanning NV defect
microscope, we map the stray field of a magnetic hard disk through both PL and
fluorescence lifetime imaging. This all-optical method for high magnetic field
imaging at the nanoscale might be of interest in the field of nanomagnetism,
where samples producing fields in excess of several tens of milliteslas are
typical
Quantitative stray field imaging of a magnetic vortex core
Thin-film ferromagnetic disks present a vortex spin structure whose dynamics,
added to the small size (~10 nm) of their core, earned them intensive study.
Here we use a scanning nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center microscope to
quantitatively map the stray magnetic field above a 1 micron-diameter disk of
permalloy, unambiguously revealing the vortex core. Analysis of both
probe-to-sample distance and tip motion effects through stroboscopic
measurements, allows us to compare directly our quantitative images to
micromagnetic simulations of an ideal structure. Slight perturbations with
respect to the perfect vortex structure are clearly detected either due to an
applied in-plane magnetic field or imperfections of the magnetic structures.
This work demonstrates the potential of scanning NV microscopy to map tiny
stray field variations from nanostructures, providing a nanoscale,
non-perturbative detection of their magnetic texture.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
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