Electron-to-nuclear spectral mapping via dynamic nuclear polarization.
- Resource Type
- Academic Journal
- Authors
- Pillai A; Department of Chemistry, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.; Elanchezhian M; Department of Chemistry, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.; Virtanen T; Department of Chemistry, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.; Conti S; Department of Chemistry, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.; Ajoy A; Department of Chemistry, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.; Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Chemical Sciences Division, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.; CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars Program, 661 University Ave, Toronto, ON M5G 1M1, Canada.
- Source
- Publisher: American Institute of Physics Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 0375360 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1089-7690 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00219606 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Chem Phys Subsets: PubMed not MEDLINE; MEDLINE
- Subject
- Language
- English
We report on a strategy to indirectly read out the spectrum of an electronic spin via polarization transfer to nuclear spins in its local environment. The nuclear spins are far more abundant and have longer lifetimes, allowing for repeated polarization accumulation in them. Subsequent nuclear interrogation can reveal information about the electronic spectral density of states. We experimentally demonstrate the method by reading out the ESR spectrum of nitrogen vacancy center electrons in diamond via readout of lattice 13C nuclei. Spin-lock control on the 13C nuclei yields a significantly enhanced signal-to-noise ratio for the nuclear readout. Spectrally mapped readout presents operational advantages in being background-free and immune to crystal orientation and optical scattering. We harness these advantages to demonstrate applications in underwater magnetometry. The physical basis for the "one-to-many" spectral map is itself intriguing. To uncover its origin, we develop a theoretical model that maps the system dynamics, involving traversal of a cascaded structure of Landau-Zener anti-crossings, to the operation of a tilted "Galton board." This work points to new opportunities for "ESR-via-NMR" in dilute electronic systems and in hybrid electron-nuclear quantum memories and sensors.
(© 2023 Author(s). Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.)