Triple-Tone Microwave Control for Sensitivity Optimization in Compact Ensemble Nitrogen-Vacancy Magnetometers

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2510.00913v1
• Date: Wed, 01 Oct 2025 13:54:48 GMT
• Title: Triple-Tone Microwave Control for Sensitivity Optimization in Compact Ensemble Nitrogen-Vacancy Magnetometers
• Authors: Ankita Chakravarty, Romain Ruhlmann, Vincent Halde, David Roy-Guay, Michel Pioro-Ladrière, Lilian Childress, Yves Bérubé-Lauzière,
• Abstract summary: Triple-tone excitation offers an advantage over standard single-tone control for two DC magnetometry protocols.<n>For pulsed optically detected magnetic resonance, triple-tone driving improves sensitivity by up to a factor of three in the low-dephasing regime.<n>For Ramsey interferometry, triple-tone excitation only improves sensitivity if MW power is limited.
• Score: 0.0
• License: http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/
• Abstract: Ensembles of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond are a well-established platform for quantum magnetometry under ambient conditions. One challenge arises from the hyperfine structure of the NV, which, for the common $^{14}$N isotope, results in a threefold reduction of contrast and thus sensitivity. By addressing each of the NV hyperfine transitions individually, triple-tone microwave (MW) control can mitigate this sensitivity loss. Here, we experimentally and theoretically investigate the regimes in which triple-tone excitation offers an advantage over standard single-tone MW control for two DC magnetometry protocols: pulsed optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) and Ramsey interferometry. We validate a master equation model of the NV dynamics against ensemble NV measurements, and use the model to explore triple-tone vs single-tone sensitivity for different MW powers and NV dephasing rates. For pulsed ODMR, triple-tone driving improves sensitivity by up to a factor of three in the low-dephasing regime, with diminishing gains when dephasing rates approach the hyperfine splitting. In contrast, for Ramsey interferometry, triple-tone excitation only improves sensitivity if MW power is limited. Our results delineate the operating regimes where triple-tone control provides a practical strategy for enhancing NV ensemble magnetometry in portable and power-limited sensors.

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