High Resolution Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Using Solid-State Spins

Abstract

We demonstrate a synchronized readout (SR) technique for spectrally selective detection of oscillating magnetic fields with sub-millihertz resolution, using coherent manipulation of solid state spins. The SR technique is implemented in a sensitive magnetometer (~50 picotesla/Hz^(1/2)) based on nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond, and used to detect nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signals from liquid-state samples. We obtain NMR spectral resolution ~3 Hz, which is nearly two orders of magnitude narrower than previously demonstrated with NV based techniques, using a sample volume of ~1 picoliter. This is the first application of NV-detected NMR to sense Boltzmann-polarized nuclear spin magnetization, and the first to observe chemical shifts and J-couplings.