Coherent control of NV- centers in diamond in a quantum teaching lab

Abstract

The room temperature compatibility of the negatively-charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV − ) in diamond makes it the ideal quantum system for a university teaching lab. Here, we describe a low-cost experimental setup for coherent control experiments on the electronic spin state of the NV − center. We implement spin-relaxation measurements, optically-detected magnetic resonance, Rabi oscillations, and dynamical decoupling sequences on an ensemble of NV − centers. The relatively short times required to perform each of these experiments (<10 minutes) demonstrate the feasibility of the setup in a teaching lab. Learning outcomes include basic understanding of quantum spin systems, magnetic resonance, the rotating frame, Bloch spheres, and pulse sequence development.

Spin thermometry and spin relaxation of optically detected Cr3+ ions in ruby Al2O3

“…The laser beam is incident on an objective lens (Olympus MS Plan 50x/0.80NA), which is mounted to the cold finger attached to the mixing chamber (MXC) plate. The laser beam then gets focused through a 1 mm hole in a printed circuit board (PCB) that carries the MW antenna [25], which delivers the oscillating magnetic field B 1 B 0 for the ODMR experiments in Sec. VII.…”