High precision vector magnetometry with uniaxial quantum centers in silicon carbide

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a high-precision vector magnetometry technique using uniaxial quantum centers in silicon carbide, capable of measuring magnetic field strength and orientation with degree-level accuracy at room temperature.

Contribution

It introduces a novel optical detection method for spin resonances in silicon carbide defects, enabling vector magnetic field measurements with high precision without fitting parameters.

Findings

Achieved angle resolution of a few degrees in magnetic fields up to several millitesla.

Demonstrated high agreement between experimental and theoretical spin resonance spectra.

Applicable to both ensembles and single spin-3/2 centers at ambient conditions.

Abstract

We show that uniaxial color centers in silicon carbide with hexagonal lattice structure can be used to measure not only the strength but also the polar angle of the external magnetic field with respect to the defect axis with high precision. The method is based on the optical detection of multiple spin resonances in the silicon vacancy defect with quadruplet ground state. We achieve a perfect agreement between the experimental and calculated spin resonance spectra without any fitting parameters, providing angle resolution of a few degrees in the magnetic field range up to several millitesla. Our approach is suitable for ensembles as well as for single spin-3/2 color centers, allowing for vector magnetometry on the nanoscale at ambient conditions.