Laser and Microwave Excitations of Rabi Oscillations of a Single Nitrogen-Vacancy Electron Spin in Diamond

TL;DR

This paper reports the observation of collapse and revival Rabi oscillations in a single NV center electron spin in diamond at room temperature, revealing complex spin dynamics due to hyperfine interactions.

Contribution

It demonstrates the influence of hyperfine interactions on Rabi oscillations, providing new insights into electron spin behavior in diamond at room temperature.

Findings

Observation of collapse and revival Rabi oscillations.

Identification of triplet splitting due to hyperfine interaction.

Complex Rabi oscillation shape from combined nutations.

Abstract

A collapse and revival shape of Rabi oscillations of a single Nitrogen-Vacancy (NV) center electron spin has been observed in diamond at room temperature. Because of hyperfine interaction between the host 14N nuclear spin and NV center electron spin, different orientation of the 14N nuclear spin leads to a triplet splitting of the transition between the ground ms=0 and excited states ms=1. Microwave can excite the three transitions equally to induce three independent nutations and the shape of Rabi oscillations is a combination of the three nutations. This result provides an innovative view of electron spin oscillations in diamond.