In one of it's allotropes, carbon forms a cubic lattice, called diamond. Within the diamond lattice numerous types of defects can exist. One of these defects is the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center. It is formed by a substitutional nitrogen atom associated with a neighboring vacancy.
When in the negative charge state, six electrons are associated to the NV center and form a molecular system. These electrons can be exited using a green (520 nm) laser and can emit red fluorescence when returning to the ground state. Since the fluorescence depends on the spin state of the electrons, optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) experiments are possible.
The electron spins of the NV center can be manipulated at room temperature with microwave radiation or by applying magnetic or electric fields. Therefore the NV center is suitable for quantum sensing applications.

This education experiment will introduce students to the concepts of quantum sensing. The experiment is easy and intuitive to operate and require low maintenance. It utilizes our Laser Diode Driver and Photodiode together with a purpose-built RF sweep generator and a microcontroller interface to combine the whole setup into one compact enclosure. So the only thing needed is a computer running our cross-platform python measurement software.

Features

  HPHT diamond
  4 GHz RF sweep generator
  520 nm diode laser
  PC interface via USB (VCP) or Ethernet (Telnet)

Measurements

  NV fluorescence
  ODMR
  Spin relaxation time
  Magnetic field