Harnessing individual nitrogen-vacancy centers with a compact and portable confocal microscope

TL;DR

This paper introduces a compact, portable confocal microscope designed for efficient detection, control, and sensing of individual nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond, advancing practical quantum technology applications.

Contribution

The work presents a novel, miniaturized confocal system tailored for NV center manipulation, reducing size and complexity compared to traditional setups.

Findings

Enables optical initialization and readout of single NV centers

Facilitates coherent spin control of NV centers

Achieves nanoscale magnetic field sensing

Abstract

Recent advancements in quantum technology have highlighted the potential of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond. However, fully realizing this potential requires addressing challenges related to the size, complexity, and cost of current optical systems used for NV center manipulation. In this work, we present a compact and portable confocal setup specifically designed for the efficient detection and control of single NV centers. Our system facilitates optical initialization and readout of individual NV center photoluminescence signals, enabling coherent spin control and nanoscale-resolution magnetic field sensing.