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arXiv:2606.10452

Floquet analysis of coherence in periodically driven diamond NV ensemble systems

Cuong M. Nguyen, Uijin Ko, Seong-Joo Lee, Hyeonsu Kim, Hosung Seo, Sangwon Oh

quant-phSubmitted Jun 9, 2026• Announced Jun 10, 2026• 0 citations• Revised Sep 17, 2026 (v2)
v1 · Jun 9, 2026v2 · Sep 17, 2026
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Abstract

High-density nitrogen-vacancy (NV) ensembles are promising platforms for solid-state quantum sensing, but their performance is limited by dipolar interactions and inhomogeneous dephasing. Periodic decoupling sequences such as Waugh-Huber-Haeberlen (WAHUHA) can extend the observed stroboscopic decay time, but a longer fitted lifetime does not necessarily imply improved magnetic-field sensitivity. Here, we experimentally demonstrate this disconnect experimentally. WAHUHA increases the fitted stroboscopic decay time from $T_{2}^*$ of 0.9 $μ$s to $T_{2,eff}^*$ of 31 $μ$s, while producing little improvement in dc magnetic-field sensitivity. Using detuning-resolved stroboscopic spectroscopy and finite-pulse Floquet analysis, we show that the long-lived signal arises from phase wrapping and quasienergy branch folding of the one-cycle unitary. These effects reshape the stroboscopic spectrum, and the experimentally relevant folded branches exhibit a reduced local detuning-to-phase transduction slope, $dΦ/dΔ$, which governs the dc magnetic-field response. Our results demonstrate that, under periodic driving, an extended effective dephasing time does not necessarily translate into enhanced dc sensitivity and establish finite pulse Floquet analysis as a practical framework for evaluating coherence in spin ensembles.

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34 pages, 11 figures

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High-density nitrogen-vacancy (NV) ensembles are promising platforms for solid-state quantum sensing, but their performance is limited by dipolar interactions and inhomogeneous dephasing. Periodic decoupling sequences such as Waugh-Huber-Haeberlen (WAHUHA) can extend the observed stroboscopic decay time, but a longer fitted lifetime does not necessarily imply improved magnetic-field sensitivity. Here, we experimentally demonstrate this disconnect experimentally. WAHUHA increases the fitted stroboscopic decay time from T2∗T_{2}^*T2∗​ of 0.9 μμμs to T2,eff∗T_{2,eff}^*T2,eff∗​ of 31 μμμs, while producing little improvement in dc magnetic-field sensitivity. Using detuning-resolved stroboscopic spectroscopy and finite-pulse Floquet analysis, we show that the long-lived signal arises from phase wrapping and quasienergy branch folding of the one-cycle unitary. These effects reshape the stroboscopic spectrum, and the experimentally relevant folded branches exhibit a reduced local detuning-to-phase transduction slope, dΦ/dΔdΦ/dΔdΦ/dΔ, which governs the dc magnetic-field response. Our results demonstrate that, under periodic driving, an extended effective dephasing time does not necessarily translate into enhanced dc sensitivity and establish finite pulse Floquet analysis as a practical framework for evaluating coherence in spin ensembles.
Abstract High-density nitrogen-vacancy (NV) ensembles are promising platforms for solid-state quantum sensing, but their performance is limited by dipolar interactions and inhomogeneous dephasing. Periodic decoupling sequences such as Waugh-Huber-Haeberlen (WAHUHA) can extend the observed stroboscopic decay time, but a longer fitted lifetime does not necessarily imply improved magnetic-field sensitivity. Here, we experimentally demonstrate this disconnect experimentally. WAHUHA increases the fitted stroboscopic decay time from T2∗T_{2}^{*}T2∗​ T 2 ∗ of 0.9 μs to T2,eff∗T_{2,\mathit{eff}}^{*}T2,eff∗​ T 2 , eff ∗ of 31 μs, while producing little improvement in dc magnetic-field sensitivity. Using detuning-resolved stroboscopic spectroscopy and finite-pulse Floquet analysis, we show that the long-lived signal arises from phase wrapping and quasienergy branch folding of the one-cycle unitary. These effects reshape the stroboscopic spectrum, and the experimentally relevant folded branches exhibit a reduced local detuning-to-phase transduction slope, $d\Phi /d\Delta $ d Φ / d Δ , which governs the dc magnetic-field response. Our results demonstrate that, under periodic driving, an extended effective dephasing time does not necessarily translate into enhanced dc sensitivity and establish finite pulse Floquet analysis as a practical framework for evaluating coherence in spin ensembles.
In quantum science applications, ranging from many-body physics to quantum metrology, dipolar interactions in spin ensembles are controlled via Floquet engineering. However, this technique typically reduces the interaction strength between spins, and effectively weakens the coupling to a target sensing field, limiting the metrological sensitivity. In this work, we develop and demonstrate a method for direct tuning of the native interaction in an ensemble of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond. Our approach utilizes dressed-state qubit encoding under a magnetic field perpendicular to the crystal lattice orientation. This method leads to a 3.2×3.2\times3.2× enhancement of the dimensionless coherence parameter JT2JT_2JT2​ compared to state-of-the-art Floquet engineering, and a 2.6×2.6\times2.6× (8.3 8.3~8.3 dB) enhanced sensitivity in AC magnetometry. Utilizing the extended coherence we experimentally probe spin transport at intermediate to late times. Our results provide a powerful Hamiltonian engineering tool for future studies with NV ensembles and other interacting higher-spin (S>12S>\frac{1}{2}S>21​) systems.
Abstract Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center ensembles in diamond are one of the most promising solid-state quantum platforms for various sensing applications. Achieving ultimate sensitivity requires simultaneously long spin dephasing times ( T2∗{T}_{2}^{* }T2∗​ T 2 * ) and high NV center concentrations. In this work, we propose a systematic measurement approach to quantify the electron spin dephasing in NV center ensembles and analyze the contributions of various sources to the dephasing time, including NV-NV interactions, strain and electric field distributions, 13 C nuclear spins, and P1 electron spins. Our method is validated using a series of high-performance diamond samples, providing a comprehensive understanding of dephasing mechanisms and revealing correlations between NV concentration and different dephasing sources. Building on these insights, we outline strategies to further enhance the achievable sensitivity for DC magnetic field measurements.
In this work, we optimize a dynamical decoupling (DD) protocol to improve the spin coherence properties of a dense ensemble of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond. Using liquid nitrogen-based cooling and DD microwave pulses, we increase the transverse coherence time T2 from ∼ 0.7 ms up to ∼ 30 ms. We extend previous work of single-axis (Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill) DD towards the preservation of arbitrary spin states. After performing a detailed analysis of pulse and detuning errors, we compare the performance of various DD protocols. We identify that the concatenated XY8 pulse sequences serves as the optimal control scheme for preserving an arbitrary spin state. Finally, we use the concatenated sequences to demonstrate an immediate improvement of the AC magnetic sensitivity up to a factor of two at 250 kHz. For future work, similar protocols may be used to increase coherence times up to NV-NV interaction time scales, a major step toward the creation of quantum collective NV spin states.
We demonstrate significant improvements of the spin coherence time of a dense ensemble of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond through optimized dynamical decoupling (DD). Cooling the sample down to 77 K suppresses longitudinal spin relaxation T1{T}_{1}T1​ effects and DD microwave pulses are used to increase the transverse coherence time T2{T}_{2}T2​ from $\ensuremath{\sim}0.7\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\mathrm{ms}$ up to $\ensuremath{\sim}30\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\mathrm{ms}$. We extend previous work of single-axis (Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill) DD towards the preservation of arbitrary spin states. Following a theoretical and experimental characterization of pulse and detuning errors, we compare the performance of various DD protocols. We identify that the optimal control scheme for preserving an arbitrary spin state is a recursive protocol, the concatenated version of the XY8 pulse sequence. The improved spin coherence might have an immediate impact on improvements of the sensitivities of ac magnetometry. Moreover, the protocol can be used on denser diamond samples to increase coherence times up to NV-NV interaction time scales, a major step towards the creation of quantum collective NV spin states.
The sensitivity of practical solid quantum sensing can be boosted up by increasing the number of probes. However, the effects of spin dephasing caused by inhomogeneous broadening and imperfect quantum control can reduce the fidelity of quantum control and the sensitivity of quantum sensing with the dense ensemble of probes, such as nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond. Here, we present a robust and effective composite-pulse for high fidelity operation against inhomogeneous broadening and control errors via optimized modulation of the control field. Such a composite-pulse was verified on NV center to keep high fidelity quantum control up to a spectrum detuning as large as 110% of Rabi frequency. The sensitivity of the magnetometer with NV center ensemble was experimentally improved by a factor of 4, comparing to dynamical decoupling with a normal rectangular pulse. Our work marks an important step towards high trustworthy ultra-sensitive quantum sensing with imperfect quantum control in practical applications. The used principle is universal and not restricted to NV center ensemble magnetometer.