Single-Spin Nitrogen-Vacancy Magnetometer with Enhanced Static Field Sensitivity
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Abstract
Precision sensing and imaging of weak static magnetic fields are crucial for a variety of emerging nanoscale applications. While nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond provide exceptional AC magnetic field sensitivity with nanoscale spatial resolution, their sensitivity to static (DC) magnetic fields is fundamentally limited by the short dephasing time (T2*) due to spin-spin interactions. In this work, we present a novel hybrid sensing approach that integrates a soft ferromagnetic microwire with a single near-surface NV center to amplify its response to external static magnetic fields. This hybrid configuration achieves a DC magnetic field sensitivity of 63 nT/sqrt(Hz) for a single NV center - about 500 times greater than conventional inhomogeneous broadening- or T2*-limited magnetometry, with potential for further enhancement. The compact and highly sensitive nature of this sensor opens new opportunities for quantum sensing applications involving the detection of static or slowly varying magnetic fields across diverse scientific and technological domains.