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High-sensitivity optical detection of electron-nuclear spin clusters in diamond

L. Chambard1, A. Durand1, J. Voisin1, M. Perdriat1, V. Jacques2, and G. Hétet1

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Phys. Rev. Research 8, 023337 – Published 25 June, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/g88t-fddb

Abstract

We perform sensitive nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) with spin ensembles that are polarized by nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond at room temperature. Using stabilized lasers, a balanced detection, and a highly uniform magnetic field, we resolve sharp NMR features arising from multiple spin clusters. In particular, we investigate the coupling between nuclear spins and NV centers in the neutral and negatively charged states. Further, we perform high-precision NMR and coherent control of families of C13 nuclear spin ensembles in the |ms=0〉 level of the NV ground state. Applying an off-axis magnetic field reveals the various sites associated with the otherwise degenerate couplings of the C13 sites around the NV electronic spin, providing access to all the hyperfine tensor components. Finally, we observe spectroscopic signatures of pairs of nuclear spins coupled to the same NV center. These results are relevant for ensemble measurements of dynamical polarization that currently rely on expensive nuclear magnetic resonance systems as well as for recently proposed nuclear spin gyroscopes.

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Phys. Rev. Research 8, 023337– Published 25 June, 2026
  • Received 17 October 2025
  • Accepted 25 April 2026
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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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