Three-dimensional nuclear spin positioning using coherent radio-frequency control

TL;DR

This paper introduces a protocol for three-dimensional nuclear spin positioning using coherent radio-frequency control, enabling precise localization of nuclear spins in a diamond host for nanoscale NMR applications.

Contribution

The method allows retrieval of the azimuth angle in addition to distance and polar angle, advancing nuclear spin localization techniques.

Findings

Successfully demonstrated 3D positioning of carbon-13 spins in diamond.

Enabled atomic-resolution imaging of single molecules.

Enhanced nuclear spin localization accuracy.

Abstract

Distance measurements via the dipolar interaction are fundamental to the application of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to molecular structure determination, but they only provide information on the absolute distance $r$ and polar angle $\theta$ between spins. In this Letter, we present a protocol to also retrieve the azimuth angle $\phi$. Our method relies on measuring the nuclear precession phase after application of a control pulse with a calibrated external radio-frequency coil. We experimentally demonstrate three-dimensional positioning of individual carbon-13 nuclear spins in a diamond host crystal relative to the central electronic spin of a single nitrogen-vacancy center. The ability to pinpoint three-dimensional nuclear locations is central for realizing a nanoscale NMR technique that can image the structure of single molecules with atomic resolution.