Stimulated emission assisted time-gated detection of a solid-state spin

Area of Science:

• Quantum sensing
• Nanoscale physics
• Diamond quantum technologies

Background:

• Nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond are crucial for nanoscale sensing applications.
• Current methods rely on fluorescence intensity to determine NV center spin states.
• Improving signal contrast and reducing environmental noise are key challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To enhance the spin-dependent fluorescence contrast of NV centers.
• To develop a time-gating technique for improved NV center sensing.
• To mitigate background noise in NV center measurements.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a time-gating technique involving pulsed near-infrared (NIR) and green lasers.
• NIR laser stimulated emission to deplete spontaneous emission excited by the green laser.
• Varied the time delay between lasers to isolate spontaneous emission within specific time windows.

Main Results:

• Achieved an approximate 1.8-fold improvement in spin-dependent fluorescence contrast.
• Successfully eliminated environmental background noise through temporal filtering.
• Demonstrated the effectiveness of stimulated emission-assisted time-gating.

Conclusions:

• The stimulated emission-assisted time-gating technique significantly enhances NV center sensor performance.
• This method offers a robust solution for improving nanoscale sensing in noisy environments.
• The technique holds promise for advancing diamond-based quantum sensing technologies.