Single Nitrogen-vacancy Spin Research Articles

Enhanced Tripartite Interactions in Spin-Magnon-Mechanical Hybrid Systems.

Coherent tripartite interactions among degrees of freedom of completely different nature are instrumental for quantum information and simulation technologies, but they are generally difficult to realize and remain largely unexplored. Here, we predict a tripartite coupling mechanism in a hybrid setup comprising a single nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center and a micromagnet. We propose to realize direct and strong tripartite interactions among single NV spins, magnons, and phonons via modulating the relative motion between the NV center and the micromagnet. Specifically, by introducing a parametric drive (two-phonon drive) to modulate the mechanical motion (such as the center-of-mass motion of a NV spin in diamond trapped in an electrical trap or a levitated micromagnet in a magnetic trap), we can obtain a tunable and strong spin-magnon-phonon coupling at the single quantum level, with up to 2 orders of magnitude enhancement for the tripartite coupling strength. This enables, for example, tripartite entanglement among solid-state spins, magnons, and mechanical motions in quantum spin-magnonics-mechanics with realistic experimental parameters. This protocol can be readily implemented with the well-developed techniques in ion traps or magnetic traps and could pave the way for general applications in quantum simulations and information processing based on directly and strongly coupled tripartite systems.

Strong tunable spin-spin interaction in a weakly coupled nitrogen vacancy spin-cavity electromechanical system

The long coherence time of a single nitrogen vacancy (NV) center spin in diamond is a crucial advantage for implementing quantum information processing. However, the realization of strong coupling between single NV spins is challenging. Here we propose a method to greatly enchance the interaction between two single NV spins in diamond which are only weakly coupled to an electromechanical cavity. Owing to the presence of a critical point for the linearized electromechanical subsystem, the coupling between a single NV spin and the high-frequency polariton (formed by the mechanical and cavity modes) can be fully decoupled, but the coupling between the single NV spin and the low-frequency polariton is however greatly enhanced. Thus, AC Stark shift of the single NV spin can be measured. With the low-frequency polariton as a quantum bus, a strong coupling between two single NV centers is achievable. This effective strong coupling can ensure coherent quantum-information exchange between two spin qubits in the weakly coupled spin-cavity elecromechanical system.

Improvement on the manipulation of a single nitrogen-vacancy spin and microwave photon at single-quantum level

It remains a great challenge to realize direct manipulation of a nitrogen-vacancy (NV) spin at the single-quantum level with a microwave (MW) cavity. As an alternative, a hybrid system with the spin–phonon–photon triple interactions mediated by a squeezed cantilever-type harmonic resonator is proposed. According to the general mechanical parametric amplification of this in-between phonon mode, the direct spin–phonon and photon–phonon couplings are both exponentially enhanced, which can even further improve the coherent manipulation of a single NV spin and MW photon with a higher efficiency. In view of this triple system with enhanced couplings and the additional sideband adjustable designs, this scheme may provide a more efficient phonon-mediated platform to bridge or manipulate the MW quantum and a single electron spin coherently. It is also hoped to evoke wider applications in the areas of quantum state transfer and preparation, ultrasensitive detection and quantum nondestructive measurement, etc.

Chiral single-photon switch-assisted quantum logic gate with a nitrogen-vacancy center in a hybrid system

We propose what we believe is a novel proposal for realizing a quantum C-NOT logic gate, through fabricating an interesting hybrid device with a chiral photon-pulse switch, a single nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center, and an optical microcavity. Three major different practical routes on realizing a chiral photon emitter are discussed, which can implement a chiral control unit via the nonreciprocal emitter–photon interactions, so-called “propagation-direction-dependent” emission. With the assistance of dichromatic microwave driving fields, we carry out the relevant C-NOT operations by engineering the interactions on a single NV spin in a cavity. We note that this logic gate is robust against practical noise and experimental imperfection, and this attempt may evoke wide and fruitful applications in quantum information processing.

Demonstration of NV-detected ESR spectroscopy at 115 GHz and 4.2 T

High frequency electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy is an invaluable tool for identification and characterization of spin systems. Nanoscale ESR using the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center has been demonstrated down to the level of a single spin. However, NV-detected ESR has exclusively been studied at low magnetic fields, where the spectral overlap prevents clear identification of spectral features. In this work, we demonstrate NV-detected ESR measurements of single-substitutional nitrogen impurities in diamond at a NV Larmor frequency of 115 GHz and the corresponding magnetic field of 4.2 T. The NV-ESR measurements utilize a double electron-electron resonance sequence and are performed using both ensemble and single NV spin systems. In the single NV experiment, chirp pulses are used to improve the population transfer and for NV-ESR measurements. This work provides the basis for NV-based ESR measurements of external spins at high magnetic fields.

(111)-oriented, single crystal diamond tips for nanoscale scanning probe imaging of out-of-plane magnetic fields

We present an implementation of all-diamond scanning probes for scanning nitrogen-vacancy (NV) magnetometry fabricated from (111)-oriented diamond material. The realized scanning probe tips on average contain single NV spins, a quarter of which have their spin quantization axis aligned parallel to the tip direction. Such tips enable single-axis vector magnetic field imaging with a nanoscale resolution, where the measurement axis is oriented normal to the scan plane. We discuss how these tips bring multiple practical advantages for NV magnetometry, in particular, regarding quantitative analysis of the resulting data. We further demonstrate the beneficial optical properties of NVs oriented along the tip direction, such as polarization-insensitive excitation, which simplifies optical setups needed for NV magnetometry. Our results will be impactful for scanning NV magnetometry in general and for applications in spintronics and the investigation of thin film magnets in particular.

Determination of intrinsic effective fields and microwave polarizations by high-resolution spectroscopy of single nitrogen-vacancy center spins

We present high-resolution optically detected magnetic resonance spectroscopy on single nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center spins in diamond at and around zero magnetic field. The experimentally observed transitions depend sensitively on the interplay between the microwave (MW) probing field and the local intrinsic effective field comprising strain and electric fields, which act on the NV spin. Based on a theoretical model of the magnetic dipole transitions and the MW driving field, we extract both the strength and the direction of the transverse component of the effective field. Our results reveal that for the diamond crystal under study, strain is the dominant contribution to the effective field. Our experiments further yield a method for MW polarization analysis in a tunable, linear basis, which we demonstrate on a single NV spin. Our results are of importance to low-field quantum sensing applications using NV spins and form a relevant addition to the ever-growing toolset of spin-based quantum sensing.

Probing a Spin Transfer Controlled Magnetic Nanowire with a Single Nitrogen-Vacancy Spin in Bulk Diamond.

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, providing a potential new means of control. Finally, we use the NV as a local noise thermometer, observing strong ST damping of the stray field noise, consistent with magnetic cooling from room temperature to ∼150 K.

Strong coupling between a single nitrogen-vacancy spin and the rotational mode of diamonds levitating in an ion trap

A scheme for strong coupling between a single atomic spin and the rotational mode of levitating nanoparticles is proposed. The idea is based on spin readout of nitrogen-vacancy centers embedded in aspherical nanodiamonds levitating in an ion trap. We show that the asymmetry of the diamond induces a rotational confinement in the ion trap. Using a weak homogeneous magnetic field and a strong microwave driving we then demonstrate that the spin of the nitrogen-vacancy center can be strongly coupled to the rotational mode of the diamond.

Hybrid Quantum Device with Nitrogen-Vacancy Centers in Diamond Coupled to Carbon Nanotubes.

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, intrinsic, and tunable magnetomechanical couplings allows for the construction of hybrid quantum devices with NV centers and carbon-based nanostructures, as well as phonon-mediated quantum information processing with spin qubits.

Entangling a single NV centre with a superconducting qubit via parametric couplings between photons and phonons in a hybrid system

We propose an efficient scheme for generating entangled states between a single nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centre in diamond and a superconducting qubit in a hybrid set-up. In this device, the NV centre and the superconducting qubit couple to a nanomechanical resonator and a superconducting coplanar waveguide cavity, respectively, while the microwave cavity and the mechanical resonator are parametrically coupled with a tunable coupling strength. We show that, highly entangled states between the NV centre and the superconducting qubit can be achieved, by means of the Jaynes–Cummings interactions in the NV-resonator and qubit-cavity subsystems which transfer the entanglement between the vibration phonons and the cavity photons to the NV centre and the superconducting qubit. This work may provide interesting applications in quantum computation and communication with single NV spins and superconducting qubits.

Nitrogen-Vacancy Spins in Diamond a Possible Tool to Study Protein Diffusion and Oligomerization

Nitrogen-Vacancy (NV) colour centres in diamond is a rapidly progressing field with promising applications ranging from quantum information to bio-imaging and sensing.1 The ability to manipulate NV electron spin optically under the ambient condition is the main driving force behind developments in nanoscale sensing techniques. In this work, we present investigations on using single NV spin to monitor diffusion dynamics of proteins. We investigate effects of spin labels interacting with NV spin and analyse protein diffusion and oligomerization. For these studies, we use a home built single NV pulsed optically-detected-magnetic-resonance (ODMR) set-up capable of handling aqueous samples. The NV spin state initialized by optical pumping and transition between states are manipulated using microwaves. Coherent control of the spin states and pulsed protocols designed to sense fluctuations were used to probe spin coherences and monitor the diffusion dynamics. Figure 1 (a,b) shows the schematic of our setup and confocal fluorescence image of NV centers created ∼ 5nm close to the surface of a diamond. Some unspecific surface adhesions tend to cause problems with reliable spin coherence signals. Lipid bilayer coated surfaces could minimize unwanted adsorption while the adhesion of the membrane to the surface is challenging. We will present some results on surface treatments that promote adhesion on diamond surfaces. Surfaces treated with oxygen, argon plasma and wet chemical routes were analysed. The result indicates differences when the molecules dispersed in chloroform and aqueous buffer respectively and dried under ambient conditions. This provides routes to achieve monolayer of lipids on the diamond surface. The lipid bilayer films serve as a platform for investigating protein diffusion, dynamics and oligomerization at a single molecule level using NV-spin sensors.

Dynamical nuclear polarization using multi-colour control of color centers in diamond

Dynamical nuclear polarization (DNP) transfers the polarization of electron spins at cryogenic temperatures to achieve strong nuclear polarization for applications in nuclear magnetic resonance. Recently introduced approaches employ optical pumping of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond to achieve DNP even at ambient temperatures. In such schemes microwave radiation is used to establish a Hartmann-Hahn condition between the NV electron spin and proximal nuclear spins to facilitate polarization transfer. For a single monochromatic microwave driving field, the Hartmann-Hahn condition cannot be satisfied for an ensemble of NV centers due to inhomogeneous broadening and reduces significantly the overall efficiency of dynamical nuclear polarization using an ensemble of NV centers. Here, we adopt generalized Hartmann-Hahn type dynamical nuclear polarization schemes by applying microwave driving fields with (multiple) time-modulated frequencies. We show that it is possible to enhance the effective coupling between an ensemble of NV center spins with inhomogeneous broadening and nuclear spins, thereby improving significantly the overall efficiency of dynamical nuclear polarization. This approach can also be used to achieve dynamical nuclear polarization of an ensemble of nuclei with a distribution of Larmor frequencies, which would be helpful in magnetic resonance spectroscopy using a single NV spin sensor.

Three-dimensional optical manipulation of a single electron spin

Nitrogen vacancy (NV) centres in diamond are promising elemental blocks for quantum optics, spin-based quantum information processing and high-resolution sensing. However, fully exploiting the capabilities of these NV centres requires suitable strategies to accurately manipulate them. Here, we use optical tweezers as a tool to achieve deterministic trapping and three-dimensional spatial manipulation of individual nanodiamonds hosting a single NV spin. Remarkably, we find that the NV axis is nearly fixed inside the trap and can be controlled in situ by adjusting the polarization of the trapping light. By combining this unique spatial and angular control with coherent manipulation of the NV spin and fluorescence lifetime measurements near an integrated photonic system, we demonstrate individual optically trapped NV centres as a novel route for both three-dimensional vectorial magnetometry and sensing of the local density of optical states.