Detecting and polarizing nuclear spins with double resonance on a single electron spin

Phys Rev Lett. 2013 Aug 9;111(6):067601. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.111.067601. Epub 2013 Aug 5.

Abstract

We report the detection and polarization of nuclear spins in diamond at room temperature by using a single nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center. We use Hartmann-Hahn double resonance to coherently enhance the signal from a single nuclear spin while decoupling from the noisy spin bath, which otherwise limits the detection sensitivity. As a proof of principle, we (i) observe coherent oscillations between the NV center and a weakly coupled nuclear spin and (ii) demonstrate nuclear-bath cooling, which prolongs the coherence time of the NV sensor by more than a factor of 5. Our results provide a route to nanometer scale magnetic resonance imaging and novel quantum information processing protocols.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Electrons
  • Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy*
  • Models, Theoretical*
  • Nitrogen / chemistry
  • Nuclear Physics / methods*

Substances

  • Nitrogen