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Main Authors: Childress, Lilian, Halde, Vincent, Johnson, Kayla, Lowther, Andrew, Roy-Guay, David, Ruhlmann, Romain, Solyom, Adrian
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.24574
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author Childress, Lilian
Halde, Vincent
Johnson, Kayla
Lowther, Andrew
Roy-Guay, David
Ruhlmann, Romain
Solyom, Adrian
author_facet Childress, Lilian
Halde, Vincent
Johnson, Kayla
Lowther, Andrew
Roy-Guay, David
Ruhlmann, Romain
Solyom, Adrian
contents Accurate measurement of vector magnetic fields is critical for applications including navigation, geoscience, and space exploration. Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center spin ensembles offer a promising solution for high-sensitivity vector magnetometry, as their different orientations in the diamond lattice measure different components of the magnetic field. However, the bias magnetic field typically used to separate signals from each NV orientation introduces inaccuracy from drifts in permanent magnets or coils. Here, we present a novel bias-field-free approach that labels the NV orientations via the direction of the microwave (MW) field in a variable-pulse-duration Ramsey sequence used to manipulate the spin ensemble. Numerical simulations demonstrate the possibility to isolate each orientation's signal with sub-nT accuracy in most terrestrial fields, even without precise MW field calibration, at only a moderate cost to sensitivity. We also provide proof-of-principle experimental validation, observing relevant features that evolve as expected with applied magnetic field. Looking forward, by removing a key source of drift, the proposed protocol lays the groundwork for future deployment of NV magnetometers in high-accuracy or long-duration missions.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_24574
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Bias-field-free operation of nitrogen-vacancy ensembles in diamond for accurate vector magnetometry
Childress, Lilian
Halde, Vincent
Johnson, Kayla
Lowther, Andrew
Roy-Guay, David
Ruhlmann, Romain
Solyom, Adrian
Quantum Physics
Accurate measurement of vector magnetic fields is critical for applications including navigation, geoscience, and space exploration. Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center spin ensembles offer a promising solution for high-sensitivity vector magnetometry, as their different orientations in the diamond lattice measure different components of the magnetic field. However, the bias magnetic field typically used to separate signals from each NV orientation introduces inaccuracy from drifts in permanent magnets or coils. Here, we present a novel bias-field-free approach that labels the NV orientations via the direction of the microwave (MW) field in a variable-pulse-duration Ramsey sequence used to manipulate the spin ensemble. Numerical simulations demonstrate the possibility to isolate each orientation's signal with sub-nT accuracy in most terrestrial fields, even without precise MW field calibration, at only a moderate cost to sensitivity. We also provide proof-of-principle experimental validation, observing relevant features that evolve as expected with applied magnetic field. Looking forward, by removing a key source of drift, the proposed protocol lays the groundwork for future deployment of NV magnetometers in high-accuracy or long-duration missions.
title Bias-field-free operation of nitrogen-vacancy ensembles in diamond for accurate vector magnetometry
topic Quantum Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.24574