Observing hyperfine interactions of NV centers in diamond in an advanced quantum teaching lab

TL;DR

This paper presents an advanced quantum teaching lab setup using NV centers in diamond to demonstrate hyperfine interactions, enabling students to perform various quantum experiments efficiently within a single lab session.

Contribution

It introduces a cost-effective experimental setup for observing hyperfine interactions in NV centers, suitable for university teaching labs, with detailed protocols for advanced quantum experiments.

Findings

Demonstrated electron-nuclear interactions using ODMR, Rabi, Ramsey, and Hahn echo sequences.

Most experiments can be completed within 15 minutes, suitable for teaching labs.

Validated the feasibility of advanced quantum experiments in an educational setting.

Abstract

The negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV$^-$) center in diamond is a model quantum system for university teaching labs due to its room-temperature compatibility and cost-effective operation. Based on the low-cost experimental setup that we have developed and described for the coherent control of the electronic spin (Sewani et al.), we introduce and explain here a number of more advanced experiments that probe the electron-nuclear interaction between the \nv electronic and the \NN~and \CC~nuclear spins. Optically-detected magnetic resonance (ODMR), Rabi oscillations, Ramsey fringe experiments, and Hahn echo sequences are implemented to demonstrate how the nuclear spins interact with the electron spins. Most experiments only require 15 minutes of measurement time and can, therefore, be completed within one teaching lab.