Decoherence of Near-Surface Nitrogen-Vacancy Centers Due to Electric Field Noise

M. Kim, H. J. Mamin, M. H. Sherwood, K. Ohno, D. D. Awschalom, and D. Rugar

Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 087602 – Published 21 August 2015

Abstract

We show that electric field noise from surface charge fluctuations can be a significant source of spin decoherence for near-surface nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond. This conclusion is based on the increase in spin coherence observed when the diamond surface is covered with high-dielectric-constant liquids, such as glycerol. Double-resonance experiments show that improved coherence occurs even though the coupling to nearby electron spins is unchanged when the liquid is applied. Multipulse spin-echo experiments reveal the effect of glycerol on the spectrum of NV frequency noise.

Received 21 May 2015

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.087602

Authors & Affiliations

M. Kim¹, H. J. Mamin¹, M. H. Sherwood¹, K. Ohno^2,†, D. D. Awschalom², and D. Rugar^1,*

¹IBM Research Division, Almaden Research Center, San Jose, California 95120, USA
²Institute for Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA

^*Correspondence author. rugar@us.ibm.com
^†Present address: Applied Materials, Inc., 3340 Scott Boulevard, Santa Clara, California 95054, USA.