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Quantum Memory Enhanced Multipoint Correlation Spectroscopy for Statistically Polarized NMR

Tobias Spohn1,*, Nicolas Staudenmaier1, Philipp J. Vetter1, Timo Joas1, Thomas Unden2, Ilai Schwartz2, Philipp Neumann2, Genko Genov1, and Fedor Jelezko1

  • 1Institute of Quantum Optics and Center for Integrated Quantum Science and Technology (IQST), Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany
  • 2NVision Imaging Technologies GmbH, Ulm D-89081, Germany

  • *Contact author: kai.spohn@uni-ulm.de
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 250801 – Published 15 December, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/1cj2-rxkm

Abstract

Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy with solid-state spin sensors is a promising pathway for the detection of nuclear spins at the micro- and nanoscale. Although many nanoscale experiments rely on a single sensor spin for the detection of the signal, leveraging spin ensembles can enhance sensitivity, particularly in cases in which the signal merely originates from statistically polarized nuclear spins. In this Letter, we introduce multipoint correlation spectroscopy, which combines the advantages of two well-established methods—correlation spectroscopy and quantum heterodyne detection—to enable temporally efficient measurements of statistically polarized samples at the nanoscale with spin ensembles. We present a theoretical framework for this approach and demonstrate an experimental proof of concept with a nitrogen vacancy center in diamond. We achieve single hertz uncertainty in the estimated signal frequency, highlighting the potential applications of the technique for nanoscale nuclear magnetic resonance.

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 250802 (2025)

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 250801– Published 15 December, 2025
  • Received 27 March 2025
  • Accepted 19 November 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

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