Fiber-tip endoscope for optical and microwave control

Abstract

We present a robust, fiber-based endoscope with a silver direct-laser-written structure for radio frequency (RF) emission next to the optical fiber facet. Thereby, we are able to excite and probe a sample, such as nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond, with RF and optical signals simultaneously and specifically measure the fluorescence of the sample fully through the fiber. At our targeted frequency range of around 2.9 GHz, the facet of the fiber core is in the near-field of the RF-guiding silver structure, which comes with the advantage of an optimal RF intensity decreasing rapidly with the distance. By creating a silver structure on the cladding of the optical fiber, we achieve the minimal possible distance between an optically excited and detected sample and an antenna structure without affecting the optical performance of the fiber. This allows us to realize a high RF amplitude at the sample’s position when considering an endoscope solution with integrated optical and RF access. The capabilities of the endoscope are quantified by optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) measurements of an NV-doped microdiamond that we probe as a practical use case. We demonstrate a magnetic sensitivity of our device of 17.8 nT[Formula: see text] when measuring the ODMR exclusively through our fiber and compare the sensitivity to a measurement using a confocal microscope. Moreover, the application of our device is not limited to NV centers in diamonds. Similar endoscope-like devices combining optical excitation and detection with radio frequency or microwave antenna could be used as a powerful tool for measuring a variety of fluorescent particles that have so far only been investigated with bulky and large optical setups. Furthermore, our endoscope points toward precise distance measurements based on Rabi oscillations.