Cross-Sensor Feedback Stabilization of an Emulated Quantum Spin Gyroscope

Abstract

Quantum sensors, such as the Nitrogen Vacancy (NV) color center in diamond, are known for their exquisite sensitivity, but their performance over time are subject to degradation by environmental noise. To improve the long-term robustness of a quantum sensor, here we realize an integrated combinatorial spin sensor in the same micrometer-scale footprint, which exploits two different spin sensitivities to distinct physical quantities to stabilize one spin sensor with local information collected in realtime via the second sensor. We show that we can use the electronic spins of a large ensemble of NV centers as sensors of the local magnetic field fluctuations, affecting both spin sensors, in order to stabilize the output signal of interleaved Ramsey sequences performed on the 14 N nuclear spin. An envisioned application of such a device is to sense rotation rates with a stability of several days, allowing navigation with limited or no requirement of geo-localization. Our results would enable stable rotation sensing for over several hours, which already reflects better performance than MEMS gyroscopes of comparable sensitivity and size. arXiv:1808.04494v2 [quant-ph]

Demonstration of diamond nuclear spin gyroscope

“…Ambient magnetic field drifts may be reduced with better magnetic shielding, while bias magnetic field drifts can be reduced by temperature stabilization of magnets. Any remaining magnetic field drifts can be corrected using NV electron spin magnetometry ( 18 ).…”

“…This measurement technique is immune to temperature-induced variations in the 14 N quadrupole splitting ( 16 , 17 ). In contrast to recent work ( 18 , 19 ), our technique does not require microwave pulses resonant with the NV electron spin transitions. The advantage of this technique is that it directly provides information about the nuclear spin states without requiring precise knowledge of the electron spin transition frequencies, which are susceptible to environmental influences ( 16 , 18 , 20 ).…”

Robust optical readout and characterization of nuclear spin transitions in nitrogen-vacancy ensembles in diamond

“…From Eq. (1), * jarmola@berkeley.edu it can be seen that intrinsic 14 N nuclear spins offer an advantage over electron spins owing to their 10 3 -fold longer coherence time [8] at the same number density. Nuclear spins also have the advantage of having a 10 3 -10 4 times smaller gyromagnetic ratio than electron spins, which minimizes frequency shifts due to fluctuations in magnetic field.…”

“…Optical readout of the nuclear spin state can also be accomplished directly without the use of microwave mapping pulses in the vicinity of the excited-state level anticrossing (ESLAC) [8][9][10]. The advantage of this technique is that it directly provides information about the nuclear spin states without precise knowledge of the electron spin transition frequencies.…”

Anisotropic electron-nuclear interactions in a rotating quantum spin bath

“…The nuclear spins near optically addressable electron spins like NV centers are also a resource for storing and retrieving quantum information, and form the basis of hybrid-spin quantum information processors [12][13][14][15][16][17]. Nuclear spins are also useful ancillae for quantum sensing, where the qubit-nuclear spin interaction is harnessed for more precise sensing [18][19][20][21][22][23] or accessing new sensing modalities [24][25][26][27]. Novel means of spin bath control are thus sought to tailor the environment around the qubit as needed, decoupling spins in the bath from each other and also from the central electron spin.…”