Dynamic strain-mediated coupling of a single diamond spin to a mechanical resonator

Abstract

The development of hybrid quantum systems is central to the advancement of emerging quantum technologies, including quantum information science and quantum-assisted sensing. The recent demonstration of high-quality single-crystal diamond resonators has led to significant interest in a hybrid system consisting of nitrogen–vacancy centre spins that interact with the resonant phonon modes of a macroscopic mechanical resonator through crystal strain. However, the nitrogen–vacancy spin–strain interaction has not been well characterized. Here, we demonstrate dynamic, strain-mediated coupling of the mechanical motion of a diamond cantilever to the spin of an embedded nitrogen–vacancy centre. Via quantum control of the spin, we quantitatively characterize the axial and transverse strain sensitivities of the nitrogen–vacancy ground-state spin. The nitrogen–vacancy centre is an atomic scale sensor and we demonstrate spin-based strain imaging with a strain sensitivity of 3 × 10−6 strain Hz−1/2. Finally, we show how this spin-resonator system could enable coherent spin–phonon interactions in the quantum regime.

Nanomechanical Sensing Using Spins in Diamond

“…[16][17][18][19][20][21] However, it was incompletely specified, and as a consequence, remains largely uncharacterized (see supplementary information for discussion).…”

“…The simplest DC and AC techniques are Ramsey and Hahnecho, respectively, where ≤ 2 * ≈ 10 μs and ≤ 2 ≈ 100 μs are realistic values for NV centers in nanopillars. 18,27 Note that these values for 2 * and 2 account for the thermomechanical noise of the nanopillar. The smallest shot period is limited to ~10 ns by the shortest practical microwave pulse length, thereby constraining the frequency band for AC force sensing to 1 ↔ 1 ≈ 10 kHz ↔ 100 MHz.…”

Scanned probe imaging of nanoscale magnetism at cryogenic temperatures with a single-spin quantum sensor

“…Neutron scattering requires the growth of large, high purity single-crystal samples, and is an ensemble-averaged measurement. There is therefore a significant opportunity to develop a real-space, non-invasive magnetic sensor capable of studying magnetic order at sub-10 nm spatial resolution and sub-T/Hz DC field sensitivities.The nitrogen vacancy (NV) defect center in diamond is an exceptionally versatile single spin system with unique quantum properties that have driven its application in diverse areas ranging from quantum information and photonics to quantum metrology [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] . Cryogenic scanning magnetometry stands out as potentially the most impactful application of NV centers, taking advantage of the exquisite magnetic field sensitivity and intrinsic atomic scale of the NV center for high resolution imaging 20 .…”

Diamond-nitrogen-vacancy electronic and nuclear spin-state anticrossings under weak transverse magnetic fields

“…Up until now, we have shown experimental-theoretical agreement for the six hyperfine transitions present in a 14 N sample, where the nuclear spin I14 N = 1. Note that the four transitions present in 15 N allow for a complete nuclear spin degeneracy at zero applied axial magnetic field (see Appendix B).…”

“…DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevA.94.021401 Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) defect centers in diamond are optically polarizable quantum systems with spin-dependent fluorescence. Using electron spin resonance (ESR) under ambient conditions, sensitivity to electric fields [1][2][3][4], transverse and axial magnetic fields [5][6][7][8][9][10], temperature [11][12][13][14], strain [15], and pressure [16] have been observed via resonance frequency shifts of the NV ground-state manifold. Nonseparable sensitivity to multiple environmental factors is problematic when it comes to using the NV as a sensor.…”