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arXiv:1309.4530 · Physical Review B

Suppression of electron spin decoherence of the diamond NV center by a transverse magnetic field

Chang S. Shin, Claudia E. Avalos, Mark C. Butler, Haijing Wang, Scott J. Seltzer, Ren‐Bao Liu, Alexander Pines, Vikram S. Bajaj

Published Oct 30, 2013• 35 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We demonstrate that the spin decoherence of nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond can be suppressed by a transverse magnetic field if the electron spin bath is the primary decoherence source. The NV spin coherence, created in ``a decoherence-free subspace,'' is protected by the transverse component of the zero-field splitting, increasing the spin-coherence time about twofold. The decoherence due to the electron spin bath is also suppressed at magnetic fields stronger than \ensuremath{\sim}25 G when applied parallel to the NV symmetry axis. Our method can be used to extend the spin-coherence time of similar spin systems for applications in quantum computing, field sensing, and other metrologies.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.88.161412

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We demonstrate that the spin decoherence of nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond can be suppressed by a transverse magnetic field if the electron spin bath is the primary decoherence source. The NV spin coherence, created in ``a decoherence-free subspace,'' is protected by the transverse component of the zero-field splitting, increasing the spin-coherence time about twofold. The decoherence due to the electron spin bath is also suppressed at magnetic fields stronger than \ensuremath{\sim}25 G when applied parallel to the NV symmetry axis. Our method can be used to extend the spin-coherence time of similar spin systems for applications in quantum computing, field sensing, and other metrologies.
We theoretically investigate spin decoherence of a single nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond. Using the spin coherent-state PPP-representation method, we simulate coherence evolution of the NV center coupled to surrounding nitrogen electron (N) spins. In the system, the strength of N-N coupling is the same order as that of NV-N coupling (the strong intrabath coupling regime). We find that spin decoherence time as well as free-induction decay of the NV center depend on the spatial configuration of N spins. Both the spin decoherence rate (1/T21/{T}_{2}1/T2​) and dephasing rate (1/T2∗)1/{T}_{2}^{*})1/T2∗​) of the NV center increase linearly with the concentration of the N spins. Using the PPP-representation method, we also demonstrate extracting the noise spectrum of the N spin bath. The capability to calculate the noise spectrum will provide promising pathways to suppress decoherence of spin systems in the strong intrabath coupling regime.
Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond are a leading competitor for quantum sensing. The resolution of DC magnetic field sensing is limited by dephasing of the NV electron spin, with the main dephasing source being the thermal and quantum noise from the 13C^{13}\mathrm{C}13C nuclear spin bath. In this work, we propose an effective method to extend the dephasing time of a single NV electron spin by suppressing the nuclear spin noise. On the one hand, we improve the technique of bath driving to accommodate nuclear spin bath decoupling, and extend the dephasing time from 2.6 to 10.2 $\textmu{}\mathrm{s}$ at a magnetic field of 455 G. On the other hand, our method enables decoupling the quantum noise by inserting $\ensuremath{\pi}$ rotations around the ZZZ axis of the nuclear spin bath into the free evolution. By suppressing both the thermal and quantum noise, the dephasing time is extended by more than four times at 100 G. Our results provide a new route to explore strategies of suppressing the thermal noise and quantum noise in quantum information processing, and can be applied to other solid-state defects.
Decoherence is the biggest bottleneck in all quantum technologies. For nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond, the loss of coherence is caused by the electron and nuclear spin bath of the diamond lattice. Here, we demonstrate that the spin bath - that typically causes decoherence - entangles the spin states of the NV electron and the host 14^{14}14N nucleus. The many-body interaction between the 14^{14}14N nucleus - electron - bath spins at an energy level anti-crossing occurring for an applied magnetic field orientation perpendicular to the NV axis is responsible for this effect. This is observed experimentally in NV ensembles via electron spin-echo measurements, where the echo envelope is modulated at the frequency of a 14^{14}14N nuclear spin transition. Using numerical simulations, we show that the spin bath coupling to the NV centers is essential for observing this modulation. Due to the zero first-order Zeeman effect at the anti-crossing, the observed oscillations have long spin-echo coherence times, 2--3 times those at the parallel magnetic field orientation. The oscillation frequency is highly stable and robust against environmental fluctuations. These findings provide new opportunities for fundamental studies of many-body physics and quantum sensing.
We present the experimental results of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) electron spin decoherence, which are linked to the coexistence of electron spin bath of nitrogen impurity (P1 center) and 13 C nuclear spin bath. In previous works, only one dominant decoherence source is studied: P1 electron spin bath for type-Ib diamond; or 13 C nuclear spin bath for type-IIa diamond. In general, the thermal fluctuation from both spin baths can be eliminated by the Hahn echo sequence, resulting in a long coherence time ( T 2 ) of about 400 μs. However, in a high-purity type-IIa diamond where 13 C nuclear spin bath is the dominant decoherence source, dramatic decreases of NV electron spin T 2 time caused by P1 electron spin bath are observed under certain magnetic field. We further apply the engineered Hahn echo sequence to confirm the decoherence mechanism of multiple spin baths and quantitatively estimate the contribution of P1 electron spin bath. Our results are helpful to understand the NV decoherence mechanisms, which will benefit quantum computing and quantum metrology.
Abstract Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond have been developed into essential hardware units for a wide range of solid-state-based quantum technology applications. While such applications require the long spin coherence times of the NV centers, they are often limited due to decoherence. In this study, we theoretically investigate the decoherence of NV-spin ensembles induced by nitrogen impurities (P1 centers), which are one of the most dominant and inevitable magnetic field noise sources in diamond. We combined cluster correlation expansion and density functional theory to compute the Hahn-echo spin-coherence time of the NV centers for a broad range of P1 concentrations. Results indicate a clear linear dependence of T2 on P1 concentrations on a log scale with a slope of −1.06, which is in excellent agreement with previous experimental results. The interplay between the Jahn–Teller effect and the hyperfine interaction in the P1 center plays a critical role in determining the bath dynamics and the resulting NV decoherence. Our results provide a theoretical upper bound for the NV-spin T2 over a wide range of P1 densities, serving as a key reference for materials optimization and spin bath characterization to develop highly coherent NV-based devices for quantum information technology.
Abstract Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond have become an important tool for quantum technologies. All of these applications rely on long coherence times of electron and nuclear spins associated with these centers. Here, we study the energy level anti-crossings of an NV center in diamond coupled to a first-shell 13C nuclear spin in a small static magnetic field. These level anti-crossings (LACs) occur for specific orientations of the static magnetic field due to the strong non-secular components of the Hamiltonian. At these orientations we observe decoherence-free subspaces, where the electron spin coherence times ( T 2 * ) are 5–7 times longer than those at other orientations. Another interesting property at these LACs is that individual transition amplitudes are dominated by a single component of the magnetic dipole moment. Accordingly, this can be used for vector detection of microwave magnetic fields with a single NV center. This is particularly important to precisely control the center using numerical optimal control techniques.