Microcontroller-Optimized Measurement Electronics for Coherent Control Applications of NV Centers

Abstract

Long coherence times at room temperature make the NV center a promising candidate for quantum sensors and quantum computers. The necessary coherent control of the electron spin triplet in the ground state requires microwave π pulses in the nanosecond range, obtained from the Rabi oscillation of the mS spin states of the magnetic resonances of the NV centers. Laboratory equipment has a high temporal resolution for these measurements but is expensive and, therefore, uninteresting for fields such as education. In this work, we present measurement electronics for NV centers that are optimized for microcontrollers. It is shown that the Rabi frequency is linear to the output of the digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and is used to adapt the time length π of the electron spin flip, to the limited pulse width resolution of the microcontroller. This was achieved by breaking down the most relevant functions of conventional laboratory devices and replacing them with commercially available integrated components. The result is a cost-effective handheld setup for coherent control applications of NV centers.