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Optical and Quantum Sensing and Precision Metrology II

Advanced Ramsey interferometry with tailored pulses

Sebastián Carrasco, Sean Lourette, Andrey Jarmola, Jabir Chathanathil, Dmitry Budker, Svetlana Malinovskaya, Ignacio R. Solá, A. Glen Birdwell, Tony Ivanov, Vladimir S. Malinovsky

Published Mar 19, 2025• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond offer a promising solid-state platform for rotation sensing, operating across diverse environmental conditions. Our previous work demonstrated a rotation sensor utilizing 14N nuclear spins, detecting rotation via precession rate shifts [1]. This sensor employs direct optical polarization/readout and radio-frequency double-quantum Ramsey interferometry, eliminating microwave pulses. However, magnetic field, temperature, and RF pulse variations limit long-term stability. To enhance robustness, we developed two generalized Ramsey schemes: one utilizing stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) for pulse-area resilience [2], and a dynamical elimination protocol using modulated zero-pulse-area fields to control two-photon transitions and suppress single-photon excitations [3]. Experimental results demonstrate enhanced robustness against pulse parameter variations, yielding improved quantum state generation fidelities and robust Ramsey fringes insensitive to single-photon detuning. Our results pave the way for enhanced long-term stability in diamond-based sensors (clocks, gyroscopes, magnetometers), advancing quantum metrology and spectroscopy. Furthermore, we anticipate that the developed two-photon spectroscopy techniques will find widespread application in atomic, molecular, and spin systems, enabling robust control methods for quantum technology, including high-fidelity quantum gates, Ramsey spectroscopy, atom interferometry, and quantum sensing. [1] A. Jarmola, S. Lourette, V. M. Acosta, A. G. Birdwell, P. Blümler, D. Budker, T. Ivanov, V. S. Malinovsky, Sci. Adv. 7, eabl3840 (2021). [2] S. Lourette, A. Jarmola, J. Chathanathil, S. C. Carrasco, D. Budker, S. A. Malinovskaya, A. G. Birdwell, T. G. Ivanov, and V. S. Malinovsky, arXiv:2407.16057 (2024). [3] S. C. Carrasco, S. Lourette, I. Sola, V. S. Malinovsky, arXiv:2411.05670 (2024).

DOI
10.1117/12.3056944

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By choosing the right system and using the right techniques, it is possible to achieve reliable control of an individual quantum system in a solid. Certain atom-like solid-state systems are especially suited for this goal. The electron spin of the diamond nitrogen-vacancy (NV) impurity center is a leader among such systems and has featured in a great deal of recent experimental work in the context of various quantum technologies. By extending optical control for the NV center we increase the utility of this system, opening it up to fresh applications in quantum optics. \n \nDoing quantum control with a solid-state spin comes with its own challenges. In particular it can be difficult to simultaneously isolate single systems, both for control and from environment-induced decoherence, while also coupling multiple systems together in a controlled way. A goal of the work presented in this dissertation is to develop techniques for answering this problem in the NV center. \n \nOptical control, as opposed to the microwave control usually used for state manipulation in the NV center, would make it easier to address only one spin system at a time. We demonstrate such control using two methods, two-photon optically driven Rabi oscillations and stimulated Raman adiabatic passage. These both have the added advantage that by using Raman-resonant, dipole-detuned optical fields, they protect the spin state from the decoherence normally associated with the optical transitions. Furthermore, we see that this electron spin control is nuclear spin dependent, providing a mechanism for coupling these two spin systems. \n \nWe also investigate a decoherence reduction technique that involves coupling continuous microwave fields to the spin states. The resulting "dressed states" are shielded from spin-bath-induced magnetic field fluctuations. We confirm this using optical coherent population trapping measurements which we have also developed in the NV center. We show that these measurements are sensitive to nuclear spin states as well as to dressed states. \n \nThese results supply the missing piece, optical spin manipulation, to control schemes that are all-optical, and they demonstrate ways to significantly push back the decoherence limit. \n \nThis dissertation includes previously published and unpublished co-authored material.

•Jan 1, 2014•0 citations
Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond offer a promising solid-state platform for rotation sensing, operating across diverse environmental conditions. Our previous work demonstrated a rotation sensor utilizing 14N nuclear spins, detecting rotation via precession rate shifts [1]. This sensor employs direct optical polarization/readout and radio-frequency double-quantum Ramsey interferometry, eliminating microwave pulses. However, magnetic field, temperature, and RF pulse variations limit long-term stability. To enhance robustness, we developed two generalized Ramsey schemes: one utilizing stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) for pulse-area resilience [2], and a dynamical elimination protocol using modulated zero-pulse-area fields to control two-photon transitions and suppress single-photon excitations [3]. Experimental results demonstrate enhanced robustness against pulse parameter variations, yielding improved quantum state generation fidelities and robust Ramsey fringes insensitive to single-photon detuning. Our results pave the way for enhanced long-term stability in diamond-based sensors (clocks, gyroscopes, magnetometers), advancing quantum metrology and spectroscopy. Furthermore, we anticipate that the developed two-photon spectroscopy techniques will find widespread application in atomic, molecular, and spin systems, enabling robust control methods for quantum technology, including high-fidelity quantum gates, Ramsey spectroscopy, atom interferometry, and quantum sensing. [1] A. Jarmola, S. Lourette, V. M. Acosta, A. G. Birdwell, P. Blümler, D. Budker, T. Ivanov, V. S. Malinovsky, Sci. Adv. 7, eabl3840 (2021). [2] S. Lourette, A. Jarmola, J. Chathanathil, S. C. Carrasco, D. Budker, S. A. Malinovskaya, A. G. Birdwell, T. G. Ivanov, and V. S. Malinovsky, arXiv:2407.16057 (2024). [3] S. C. Carrasco, S. Lourette, I. Sola, V. S. Malinovsky, arXiv:2411.05670 (2024).
We report the first experimental demonstration of stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) in nuclear-spin transitions of 14^{14}14N within nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color centers in diamond. It is shown that the STIRAP technique suppresses the occupation of the intermediate state, which is a crucial factor for improvements in quantum sensing technology. Building on that advantage, we develop and implement a generalized version of the Ramsey interferometric scheme, employing half-STIRAP pulses to perform the necessary quantum-state manipulation with high fidelity. The enhanced robustness of the STIRAP-based Ramsey scheme to variations in the pulse parameters is experimentally demonstrated, showing good agreement with theoretical predictions. Our results pave the way for improving the long-term stability of diamond-based sensors, such as gyroscopes and frequency standards.
Abstract We report the first experimental demonstration of stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) in nuclear-spin transitions of 14N within nitrogen-vacancy color centers in diamond. It is shown that the STIRAP technique suppresses the occupation of the intermediate state, which is a crucial factor for improvements in quantum sensing technology. Building on that advantage, we develop and implement a generalized version of the Ramsey interferometric scheme, employing half-STIRAP pulses to perform the necessary quantum-state manipulation with high fidelity. The enhanced robustness of the STIRAP-based Ramsey scheme to variations in the pulse parameters is experimentally demonstrated, showing good agreement with theoretical predictions. Our results pave the way for improving the long-term stability of diamond-based sensors, such as gyroscopes and frequency standards.
Gyroscopes find wide applications in everyday life from navigation and inertial sensing to rotation sensors in hand-held devices and automobiles. Current devices, based on either atomic or solid-state systems, impose a choice between long-time stability and high sensitivity in a miniaturized system. Here, we introduce a quantum sensor that overcomes these limitations by providing a sensitive and stable three-axis gyroscope in the solid state. We achieve high sensitivity by exploiting the long coherence time of the 14{}^{14}14N nuclear spin associated with the nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond, combined with the efficient polarization and measurement of its electronic spin. Although the gyroscope is based on a simple Ramsey interferometry scheme, we use coherent control of the quantum sensor to improve its coherence time and robustness against long-time drifts. Such a sensor can achieve a sensitivity of $\ensuremath{\eta}\ensuremath{\sim}0.5\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}(\mathrm{mdeg}\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}{\mathrm{s}}^{\ensuremath{-}1})/\sqrt{\mathrm{Hz}\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}{\mathrm{mm}}^{3}}$ while offering enhanced stability in a small footprint. In addition, we exploit the four axes of delocalization of the nitrogen-vacancy center to measure not only the rate of rotation, but also its direction, thus obtaining a compact three-axis gyroscope.
Abstract Solid state spins have demonstrated significant potential in quantum sensing with applications including fundamental science, medical diagnostics and navigation. The quantum sensing schemes showing best performance under ambient conditions all utilize microwave or radio-frequency driving, which poses a significant limitation for miniaturization, energy efficiency, and non-invasiveness of quantum sensors. We overcome this limitation by demonstrating a purely optical approach to coherent quantum sensing. Our scheme involves the 15N nuclear spin of the Nitrogen-Vacancy (NV) center in diamond as a sensing resource, and exploits NV spin dynamics in oblique magnetic fields near the NV’s excited state level anti-crossing to optically pump the nuclear spin into a quantum superposition state. We demonstrate all-optical free-induction decay measurements—the key protocol for low-frequency quantum sensing—both on single spins and spin ensembles. Our results pave the way for highly compact quantum sensors to be employed for magnetometry or gyroscopy applications in challenging environments.
We developed a highly sensitive and long-term stable diamond quantum magnetometer by integrating a dual-feedback system that compensates for common- and differential-mode frequency shifts in double-quantum (DQ) 4-Ramsey interferometry. Detecting extremely weak magnetic-field signals requires extensive signal accumulation to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio. However, deviations from the optimal operating frequencies caused by thermal drift or environmental magnetic noise severely hinder the long-term stability of such a sensing system. To overcome the limitation, we first derived analytical solutions for the signal response to common- and differential-mode detunings based on a detuning-inclusive Hamiltonian to theoretically clarify the robustness limit in DQ 4-Ramsey sensing. Guided by this theoretical model, we introduced synchronized frequency modulation and a dual-feedback scheme to independently track and compensate for these frequency shifts while maintaining an optimal magnetic-field response. The proposed method enabled stable continuous operation against temperature variations of 2.8 K. By maintaining a magnetic field sensitivity of 7.0 pT/Hz^1/2 in the frequency range of 5-100 Hz for a prolonged duration of 4 hours, we achieved an extremely low noise floor of 64 fT/Hz^1/2. During prolonged continuous sensing, the system exhibited the expected 1/T^1/2 scaling with integration time T, and prevented both the underestimation of amplitude and waveform distortion. These results establish a robust approach for long-term DQ 4-Ramsey diamond magnetometry and demonstrate its potential for detecting weak biomagnetic signals.
By choosing the right system and using the right techniques, it is possible to achieve reliable control of an individual quantum system in a solid. Certain atom-like solid-state systems are especially suited for this goal. The electron spin of the diamond nitrogen-vacancy (NV) impurity center is a leader among such systems and has featured in a great deal of recent experimental work in the context of various quantum technologies. By extending optical control for the NV center we increase the utility of this system, opening it up to fresh applications in quantum optics. \n \nDoing quantum control with a solid-state spin comes with its own challenges. In particular it can be difficult to simultaneously isolate single systems, both for control and from environment-induced decoherence, while also coupling multiple systems together in a controlled way. A goal of the work presented in this dissertation is to develop techniques for answering this problem in the NV center. \n \nOptical control, as opposed to the microwave control usually used for state manipulation in the NV center, would make it easier to address only one spin system at a time. We demonstrate such control using two methods, two-photon optically driven Rabi oscillations and stimulated Raman adiabatic passage. These both have the added advantage that by using Raman-resonant, dipole-detuned optical fields, they protect the spin state from the decoherence normally associated with the optical transitions. Furthermore, we see that this electron spin control is nuclear spin dependent, providing a mechanism for coupling these two spin systems. \n \nWe also investigate a decoherence reduction technique that involves coupling continuous microwave fields to the spin states. The resulting "dressed states" are shielded from spin-bath-induced magnetic field fluctuations. We confirm this using optical coherent population trapping measurements which we have also developed in the NV center. We show that these measurements are sensitive to nuclear spin states as well as to dressed states. \n \nThese results supply the missing piece, optical spin manipulation, to control schemes that are all-optical, and they demonstrate ways to significantly push back the decoherence limit. \n \nThis dissertation includes previously published and unpublished co-authored material.